This vintage junkie creates pieces you can wear for years
Erik Vincent Saguiped, or Erv, has always loved the weird and the different.
“It started during my preteens … I just love weird stuff and how expressive I can be in terms of what I wear and what I show to the public,” he told Lifestyle. Another thing he loves? Thrifting.
He gets to share his passions through his two brands. Saguiped is the owner and founder of The Vintage Junkie Manila and the creative behind Karma Collective.
He curates his finds at The Vintage Junkie Manila. At Karma Collective, which he calls his passion project, he goes a step further—he breathes new life into his discoveries, deconstructing, reworking, and repurposing them, turning them into fresh and one-of-a-kind pieces with the help of skilled craftsmen.
“I try to create stuff that didn’t exist in the current market in 2016 when I started. I pick stuff from the thrift stores or rag houses that I visit, I check what’s left on the racks. I salvage pieces that are discarded or destroyed that I can use to create new pieces,” he said.
Sustainability is important to Saguiped. “For me, it’s impossible to be 100-percent sustainable, but it’s my way of practicing as much as I can in terms of being sustainable. The vision of Karma Collective is that I should only use used or destroyed garments or found objects. I will never ever use new products to create garments.”
Karma Collective’s tagline is “Creating more, consuming less.”
Saguiped’s finds and creations are “weird, odd, obs-cure, colorful, textured.”
“Those are the things I focus on in what I thrift and what I create. Being different is very important. That’s a must for me.”
Repurposing or reworking blew up postpandemic, he says. Still, he remains confident about Karma Collective’s originality. “I think the reason we are unique as a brand is, I don’t just create pieces—each piece has to have a story behind why it was created in the first place.”
Inspiration
Nine years in, Saguiped finds inspiration in his continued excitement for what he does. “As long as I’m happy with the result, that’s what’s important. How happy you are about your creation shows your audience how genuine and how authentic you are in terms of creating. I don’t want to create just because there’s a demand for it or there’s an expectation from the public. As long as I’m true to myself, I will create that piece.”
His creations have been a favorite of rappers and singers and have gotten the spotlight in concerts and music videos. They’ve been worn by Pablo of SB19, Loonie, Al James, Deny, and Daniel Padilla, among others.
Saguiped doesn’t see The Vintage Junkie Manila and Karma Collective as businesses. “I create these pieces for me to wear. It’s just that I’m blessed and lucky that my audience for both handles appreciate what I create and do, and that there are certain personalities who buy these pieces.”
He added that not thinking of his brands as businesses “is conditioning for me not to be burned out.”
Even on the brands’ Instagram accounts, he isn’t focused on making sales. “It’s not a selling page, it’s more of my journey as a thrifter or as a person who loves old stuff. It’s me sharing my love and passion with my audience.”
Scrolling through @thevintagejunkiemnl and @whatsyourkarmamanila is a joy and an adventure for the eyes. You’ll see all sorts of treasures: polos, jackets, and caps covered in patches, a hand-painted happi coat, wall tapestry transformed into outerwear, payaso pants, a jacket made out of souvenir shirts from Japan, a shirt made out of thrifted Ninja Turtles bed sheets, plus knickknacks, found objects, and art.
Lightweight
His favorite pieces are always the jackets or outerwear, but the button-down shirts are popular, too. “Last year, our bestsellers were the lightweight garments, the polos or the button downs made from tea linens or household fabrics.”
Karma Collective is the opposite of fast fashion. “I’ve created only 200-plus pieces in the past seven years,” he said.
There are pieces that are not for sale, pieces that he believes “reflect the whole brand of Karma.”
There are also garments he regrets selling but, he added, “My objective is finding the right home for the pieces I create. My basis for determining this is, if I’m happy with a piece and I see someone who would be happier owning the piece, then I’ll lean toward letting it go. It’s priceless. I’m happier that way.”
Quality is a priority for Saguiped. “Through the years, the way that we do our production has improved. When we create something, it has to be wearable and it has to last a very long time. I don’t see the point of creating something just because it looks beautiful aesthetically if it will only survive a few washes. That defeats the purpose of being sustainable.
“That’s one of the things that my audience notices. The pieces are something you can own for many years because of the quality.”
While you can always view his creations and curation on Instagram, you can also go see them in person. The Vintage Junkie Manila and Karma Collective are part of Season Pass, a treasure trove of secondhand and vintage goodness in Maginhawa, Quezon City. Saguiped’s studio/shop/creative space, House of Chopsuey, can be found there.
“We’re open Wednesday to Sunday, 1 p.m. to 9 p.m … I’m sure people would enjoy the stuff that we have there.”
Find @thevintagejunkiemnl and @whatsyourkarmamnl on Instagram and at the 3/F Season Pass, Unit E, 63 Maginhawa St., Diliman, Quezon City.
