Pop Souk – Fun, Fashion and Booze

I experienced Pop Souk for the first time last month. You may ask, what is it? It’s an event where New Yorkers from all five boroughs, nightlife personalities, artists, musicians, DJs, designers, fashionistas and assorted nutcases gather together and create a fun place, filled with fashion and booze. It’s more than just a marketplace, even though those talented New Yorkers sell their personally crafted items here. You can discover an interesting designer while you’re having a drink – what a perfect combo! 

The most interesting artist I spotted there this time was Daniel Silverstein (@zerowastedaniel, http://www.danielsilverstein.us/zwd). This guy makes sweatshirts from 100% pre-consumer cutting room waste. You can also create your own sweatshirt – you pick out the pieces of discarded fabrics you like the most, fill up a special jar with them and you receive a unique sweatshirt that doesn’t look like anything you’d find in the street. The weirdest thing is that Daniel combines different patterns – dots, stripes, flowers – and they somehow all come together in the end. His clothes are not only unlike anything you’ve seen so far but are also very comfy.  Ready-to-wear sweatshirts start from $77; if you want to make one of your own, you have to pay over $115). 

The other really interesting artist whose jewelry I liked a lot was Meghan Patrice Riley (@meghanpatriceriley, http://meghanpatriceriley.com/). Her jewelry is made of a special brand of steel that you can’t destroy or damage easily. You can do whatever you want with it, you can throw it to the bottom of your bag and it will stay intact. This jewelry looks really modern and adds the special something to your look. I die to get her earrings and I will probably purchase them soon (earrings start from $60, a necklace form $100). 

Another jewelry brand that really impressed me was Beloved Little Lamb (@belovedlittlelamb; http://www.belovedlittlelamb.com/).  The look of the jewelry isn’t striking at first, but when I took a second look I realized that was something special and elegant about it. It goes great with minimalist style. I put my dibs on that too. 

The clothing line that captured my eyes was Saga NYC (@saganyc, http://www.saganyc.com/). The leaflet said that the clothes were genderless, which really spoke to me. They were very modern, had a futuristic style to them and were even a bit daring. 

Another genderless brand belongs to an actual friend of mine – Ying Chu (@yc_yingchu, http://ycyingchu.com/), a very talented designer whom I’m proud to know. Ying specializes in long tees in mostly toned-down colors (it used to be black-and-white only, but now he added beige, red and stripes). He represents a typical NY style of casual chic, comfy clothes and layering. I bought a black one and soon will be buying another one.

I bet there were more interesting artists over there, but I was just overwhelmed by the whole ambience and by the people I saw around me. I’m already waiting for the next Pop Souk and I promise to be more focused, just to take in the richness of the entire event.

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