NEW Wave, a Jamaican event and digital media platform for local and regional culture and talent, held the fifth staging of its highly anticipated annual thrift shopping experience, Celebrity Closet, on December 10 at the MINI Jamaica Showroom. Bags upon bags of clothing, shoes, and accessories donated by local celebrities, influencers, and others were curated to create the thrifting experience. Proceeds from this year’s event will be donated towards the Alpha School of Music.

Supporting Alpha and the work they do aligns with its vision, values, and mission to uplift and support the creative and cultural communities of Jamaica, New Wave said in a release.

“And Alpha does just that through promoting the pursuit of non-traditional career paths in the arts,” they explained. “Last year’s beneficiary, The Angelic Ladies Society – a group focused on the holistic care, development, and empowerment of young women in Jamaica’s State facilities – were the recipients of $400,000.”

Event conceptualiser and New Wave Director Lindsey Lodenquai shared enthusiastically, “We are blown away by the support of our New Wave community for this, our fifth staging. The closet was full this year. We can’t thank our donors enough for really showing up for us and most importantly for a good cause. And the same goes for our supporters, our thrifters, our sustainable shoppers. There were easily over 350 people who moved through here today. It’s so awesome to see the thrifting culture in Jamaica thrive through this event, and to see how our New Wave community is buzzing with creativity as they comb through all the awesome pieces we collect and curate year after year.”

Executed on a first-come-first-served basis, scores of shoppers lined up over an hour before the event began, on a mission to secure the best finds. This year’s sale featured donations from Gyptian, Alaine, Sean Paul and family, Jesse Royal, and Lila Ike to name a few. Prices of items ranged from as low as $100 to $5,000 and up for specialty items, such as a brand new pair of Clarks Wallabees donated by Reggae Artiste Lila Ike.

The 2021 staging saw an expansion of the original model to include a live DJ set, art on exhibit, additional vendors, and MINI test drives. This year built on the usual excitement thanks to event partners, sponsors, and the vision of the dynamic New Wave and Very Culture teams.

“This year we aimed to top our previous stagings in execution and experience, but also in impact, with the hopes of exceeding last year’s donation. Based on the response we got from our donors and our shoppers today, I feel confident that we were able to do just that,” shared Travis-John Bailey, director of New Wave parent company Very Culture, and Creative producer and co-owner of production company YahMadeIt.

“We also have to make special mention to our sponsors and our volunteers. Without them we really would not have been able to achieve any of this. Our volunteers, a very special group of talented young people, came on board in the weeks leading up, giving us support we couldn’t even dream of. It really does show that teamwork really does make the dream work.”