Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Corriston.
Hi Victoria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started The Corr Collective out of frustration when the pile of clothes I no longer wore kept getting bigger and bigger. Nothing was wrong with them. I just didn’t like how they looked on me, but they were almost all brand new and from great brands! I didn’t want to go through the motions of taking pictures, writing descriptions, and waiting for them to sell online. I wanted to put my clothes out on a rack and sell them in person, and I figured if I wanted that, so did other girls.
In April 2025, The Corr Collective began, with our first Nice Rack event that May at Black Bear Bar and Grill in Hoboken. The first one was tough, but wow did I learn SO MUCH! Since then, I’ve poped up at over 20 vendor events, hosted 12+ pop-ups with an average attendance of around 200 people, did a pop-up collab with Crunch fitness, helped 75+ sellers clean out their closets, grown a community of 2,100+ followers on social media and have re-sold over 2,000+ pieces of clothes!
Our signature event, Nice Rack, is a curated closet clean-out focused on sustainability: sellers rent a rack and keep all of their profit, with no middleman, and we don’t allow fast fashion brands to be resold. Most recently, I hosted a Creators Closet Clean Out featuring six NYC and NJ influencers, and we had a VIP gifting collaboration with Tarte Beauty, Shop Pickle, WaterBoy, and Dropps.
I’m still a one-woman show with The Corr Collective, handling marketing, partnerships, event logistics, and community building myself, with a lot of help from friends!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely wasn’t a smooth road in the beginning, I didn’t have many sellers at first, so I asked friends to contribute clothes to fill the racks. When I finally did have sellers, the quality of the items dropped off wasn’t always up to the standard I wanted, and I struggled to say no- which is one of the hardest things as a small business just starting out! I set a clear no-fast-fashion policy, with examples like Amazon and Shein so sellers know exactly what’s accepted, and also to protect the integrity of the brand. The high quality of pieces is what makes the events feel curated and sustainable, and it’s now a core part of what The Corr Collective stands for.
The biggest lesson was pricing. My original seller fee didn’t cover supplies or event costs, and I felt guilty raising it. It took a while for me to realize that charging appropriately is what lets the business grow and keeps the events running well.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The Corr Collective is a community-driven sustainable fashion resale brand known for curated closet clean-out pop-ups. What sets us apart is that everything is new or like new, and every event has fresh inventory, because I choose new sellers each time. That means new closets to shop at every event, with a range of brands and sizes so everyone can find something. We don’t allow fast fashion at any of our events.
We also offer two ways to sell. The first option is “Drop & Shop: where sellers drop their pieces off with me, they price their items, and I sell them! There is a sellers fee split, but it’s minimal effort for sellers and a fast sales turnaround. This works well when I’m a vendor at an event with limited space. The second option is “Rent-a-Rack” and it’s more popular at the larger events. Sellers rent a rack for a flat fee, stay for the whole event with their rack, and keep 100% of what they make. It’s set up like a flea market.
I’m most proud of how The Corr Collective has grown from an idea into a community. I have so many repeat buyers, and it’s been so fun to watch our community of shoppers grow so fast! Plus, 35+ pop-ups, 50+ sellers, and collaborations with bigger brands, all as a one-woman show, is something I’m really proud of. What I love most is meeting new people and, of course, shopping their closets!
I’d love for readers to know that everyone is welcome, whether you’re coming to shop, sell, or just connect.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is when to say no. Brand exposure is so important, especially when you’re just starting, and a lot of my best opportunities came from saying yes. But I’ve struggled with balancing exposure and profit. Sometimes an opportunity looks great for the brand, but once I add up the time and cost, the deficit is too big. Now I ask myself whether the exposure is worth what it costs me, and I’m more intentional about which opportunities to take on.
Pricing:
- Sellers Drop and Shop Split: 60/40 (60 to the seller, 40 to me as the acting seller at the event)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecorrcollective?obrf=MWhsb3k1N285Ymdreg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Other: Partiful page with info on big pop-ups https://partiful.com/u/2pXF2vfQvIasrKXTwwMB
