Gross to Gems

STORIES

Written by: Liberty Rebanio | November 18, 2023
Edited by: Jersey Reighn Habon

Meet Kyana Velasco, a content creator who started her sustainable fashion journey in 2017 by exploring thrift shop stores.

Aside from Kyana's DIY clothes, she recalls her high school experiences of spending an hour or two thrift store shopping with friends or alone. Kyana now lives in the US and remembers her time with her mom most after finding a “maxi fitted beige skirt”. “Perfect long skirt that is timeless, and I can see myself wearing it for years and still have it up to today.” It was also when she posted “go thrifting with me” and “thrift hauls” on social media

Ms. Kyana Velasco

Content Creator

Despite not considering herself an influencer, she has naturally developed a content niche by styling used clothes and accessories.

This passion grew beyond thrifting to sustainable living, eliminating quick fashion labels and their carbon impact and manufacture. She uses her material to debunk misconceptions and generalizations about thrift shopping, such as how some people think it's "gross".

“I realized that thrifting became not only a fun activity to do, but also a small act to alleviate purchasing from fast fashion brands which is something I stand strongly by,” - KYANA

Kyana Thrift Finds!

While being aesthetic online, she uses her DIY clothes to enlighten others about what they may find in shops by showing the beauty of thrifting on her greatest buys. While not all clothes are sustainable, she emphasizes brand research to show that thrifting is not necessary to fit in with fashion and aesthetic. Through researching, Kyana has sourced stores’ materials and has been supporting small businesses. As she produced brand-new clothes from her purchases, her friends and social media followers were motivated to thrift.