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Oxfam opens pop-up fashion store on Rue Dansaert

21:10 23/10/2017

Fashion fans shopping in Brussels' trendy Dansaert district can visit a new pop-up store this autumn: Oxfam.

The charity is claiming a European first with the launch of its "Empty Shop" - a store that starts each day with a new collection of donated fashion, and aims to sell the lot by closing time.

Oxfam has appealed to designers, local independent stores, fashion students, bloggers and Instagrammers to donate their surplus stock. Members of the public can also drop off second-hand designer label items from their wardrobe.

Oxfam says the concept comes from Brazil, where NGOs have set up pop-up stores in prime retail units that are empty. The 300m2 Brussels store at Rue Dansaert 90 will be open until 16 November and is attracting about 200 visitors a day.

The charity's head of second-hand donations, Franck Kerckhof, said: "Every morning the store opens completely empty and it is gradually fed during the day by donations. In the evening, at the time of closing, we find ourselves again in an empty shop. It's quite extraordinary from a visual point of view, there is a lot of people coming and going."

Proceeds from the store will help fund emergency aid this winter, including for migrants camping in Maximilian Park.