The great thrift valley: How the Northeast became India’s style underground

Online thrift is not for the faint of heart. In the fastest-fingers-first world, you have to call dibs on an item the moment it is released on the Gram. The drop is announced via Stories. You set the alarm, turn on notifications and still you might miss what you had set your heart on after seeing it in a sneak-peek. There are no pre-bookings and no favourites. But that is the thrill of thrifting—the one that got away.

As thrifting—a common term for buying second-hand, preloved goods—gains traction in India, the Northeast is emerging as the hub. A lack of retail shops in the past has created a culture of thrift in northeastern states where secondhand goods arrive in bales. Add to this their unique sense of style— and urban audiences in the rest of the country can’t get enough of thrift lines from the Northeast.

All north eastern states have secondhand markets—from Fancy Bazaar in Guwahati and Police Bazaar in Shillong to Bara Bazaar in Aizawl, Sunday second-hand market in Imphal and Hong Kong market in Dimapur.

LINE FROM MANIPUR

Manipur-based Ngahon Tungshangnao, who set up his store Mirinwon in 2019, says it takes days to find the right products. He visits every thrift store in his hometown Ukhrul and travels to Imphal city and even other states to source. The clothing usually arrives in bales of 80-100 kg. “I do drops twice or thrice a week on Instagram, sourcing items according to the seasons.”

Tungshangnao, who loves his bucolic life with a side of high fashion, says it is convenient to start an online thrift store in the Northeast , but it has not been easy of late. “Political instability poses challenges. And the internet gets banned whenever there’s a riot. With no private couriers, one can’t make quick deliveries either,” he says.

Dimapur-based Rachel Gwanile Thong started her store Assortments2.0 in 2016. “I began by selling pieces from my wardrobe that I didn’t wear anymore. To my surprise, people were interested. That encouraged me to start thrifting and sourcing pieces,” she says, adding that the interest has only grown of late.

Thong, who runs the operation with her partner Limatenzuk Ozukum, sources everything from Nagaland—mainly Kohima and Dimapur. “In the early days, I used to go around second-hand shops and dig through everything myself. Now, we have vendors who give us a heads-up when they open a new batch and we get the first pick. We source in bulk,” says Thong.

Thong says logistics is a challenge, but her customers have come to realise that quick shipping and fast deliveries are not possible from Dimapur.

Assortments2.0 does two-three drops a week. “I don’t always follow themes, unless I happen to have a good collection of similar pieces. Otherwise, it’s more of a ‘what caught my eye’ approach,” she says.

In contrast, Folkpants, run by the sisters Linno and Lumri Jajo, from Ukhrul, puts out thematic drops. Lumri Jajo says thrifting was a natural progression of their love for clothes and fashion. “During college, we organised successful garage sales at our home in Delhi,” she says.

Jajo says they observed a lack of quality and unique clothes at affordable prices for conscious consumers. As they sourced for their personal wear, they decided to curate items that didn’t fit their style but were too good to pass up. Folkpants has recently done an all white edit for summer, a linen edit and even a vest edit. Jajo says, “There are many thrift shops but some sell cheap items without quality or authenticity, while others have high prices but less curated selections. We stand out by offering quality products at reasonable prices.”

With thrift shops launching on Instagram on a daily basis, curation, quality control and deliverables are the way forward.

Bengaluru-based risk analyst Aparna Balaji has thrifted from shops in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, and says they understand the meaning of thrifting. “They carefully choose the pieces they put up. So, it’s unique. It is sent through India Post, making it even lighter on the pocket and truly sustainable, what thrifting is meant to be,” says Balaji.

Chennai-based bag designer Sudha Sekhar has faced some issues. “I am particular about the cut and fabric. These pages mostly get products from East Asian countries that almost always have smaller sizes. But some experiences have been good, like my footwear picks. I have been wearing some for three years,” she says. An abundance of polyester also bothers her.

Itanagar-based Shaingam Mashangva who runs The Mellow Lane says she tries to curate according to her clientele. “One needs to really do some homework for the business to thrive. Understanding the customer’s choice is very important. Since 90% of my clients are from places that are hot and humid, I mostly source comfortable natural materials,” says Mashangva, a physics teacher-turned-thrift business owner.

She says sourcing good pieces has become tough: “Sometimes after going through 1,000-3,000 items, we end up with just 40-90 good pieces.” She does a drop of 20-25 pieces. She sells 30-50% of clothes on the day of the drop but ends up with a lot of unsold items, which are put on sale after a couple of months.

She says, “When you are selecting from 100 kg bales, you end up with a lot of defective pieces.” Most thrift shops, while selling items, mention even a small defect in products and that is reflected in the pricing.

NE LINE TO MAINLAND

Page owners confirm demand from the mainland. Thong, who is a lawyer, says that even though Assortments2.0 is a side hustle, she has seen steady growth and strong support over the years. “With more people embracing sustainable fashion, we are seriously thinking of scaling this into something bigger, hopefully a full-fledged brand.” Most of her buyers—from teens to people in their 40s and 50s—are from metro cities.

Even Tungshangnao started Mirinwon as a side hustle, but now it’s a full-time business, thanks to the growing demand. He says, “Thrifting has become cool. My consumers are from all over India, and they are 18 to 45 year olds.”

Yet challenges remain. Mashangva says that each year the price of thrifted clothes is increasing as bad-quality thrift bales make it harder to get good pieces: “While it’s easy to set up an online thrift store, it is difficult to build followers because of the Instagram algorithm. And the number of followers matters a lot for this business.”

Jajo says that whether the thrift stores will succeed depends on the individuals running it. “We started small but have grown into a sustainable business over the past six years. Demand and growth have been steady, with 80% customers returning.” Jajo says many find the process of searching for unique items enjoyable.

As interior designer Lorraine Kerr told The Cut in 2013 on why she thrifts: “The chase is the most fun part…. It’s about the hunting and gathering!” The thrill of discovery is just a fingertip away.