MANCHESTER Arndale’s Empty Shop has opened its doors. Well, kind of. It would have if it had them.
"AKA have kicked off the first day with a really generous donation of £20,000 worth of stock."
A shop that is filled with pre-loved clothes and then emptied at the end of the day is the new concept raising awareness for Manchester homeless charity Mustard Tree. Styled up with the help of bloggers, celebrities and fashion brands, the Empty Shop is combining charity and fashion in a new project.
Facing the Next store in Arndale, the new open space by shop fitters Clarke Gough is open to donations for the next ten days to the public, celebrities and anybody who wants to hand over their pre-loved clothes.
For more information about the project, read our previous article here.
Filling up the shop with AKA donations
Guess Who PR have commandeered the project and been responsible for involving brands and celebrities, Guess Who's Nikki Gillon said: "It's a charity and fashion concept and we hope people will enter the store and donate their clothes for the cause. AKA have kicked off the first day with a really generous donation of £20,000 worth of stock. There are lots more brands involved, but I don't want to give too much away."
Guess Who Pr GirlsAKA, aka Also Known As, are a brand based in the Northern Quarter who got involved after hearing about the project through Facebook. An emerging label now stocked in BANK, Foot Asylum and Ark, they produce menswear and womenswear.
Manchester Arndale's Centre Director, David Allinson, said: "It's fantastic and we hope it will attract many to it. The concept is a different way to give back. The Arndale deals with a lot of charities and this is a novel and innovative way for customers to get involved. It's different to cash.
"The term pre-loved is great as it's the idea that these items are hard to part with and give away. AKA have given this an amazing start with their donation, and it will be great to see it grow and develop. The Manchester Arndale as a retail centre is number two in the country so it's great to be part of this."
Andrew Clarke, of shop fitters Clarke Gough, said: "It was launched in San Paolo in Brazil and they managed to receive the equivalent of 320 black bin bags of donations.
"This is the first in the country and we're excited it's come to Manchester. We're really pleased to be involved and it's our first Arndale venture."
AKA designsSoraya Sheikh from Mustard Tree said: "We were approached by Ben from Clarke Gough in October last year and myself and the CEO Adrian watched the YouTube video and fell in love with the concept of fashion and charity together. We just thought let's go for it.
"It's been great to create awareness and challenge perceptions. We're hoping this will give Mustard Tree more exposure and more brands will get on board and make this a success."
Clarke Gough boys and David Allinson
The team behind the Empty Shop concept
The Empty Shop will be in the Manchester Arndale until February 2.
For more information or to follow its progress, follow it on Twitter at: @EmptyShopMcr
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