I wanted to create a space where people could give their clothes a second life instead, the Flea Market XL is back to Antwerp

Today, we welcome Moran Miangue for an amazing event taking place on 16 August in Antwerp, the Flea Market XL. What to expect? All what we love!

Moran Miangue is an artist and community builder with a passion for bringing people together through creativity. She loves organizing events, making music and creating spaces where people can connect and share their stories. She is also the founder of Over Haar Gesproken, a podcast exploring afro hair, identity and representation. Above all, Moran is a storyteller not only sharing her own, but creating space for all of our stories to be heard.


What’s THE FLEA MARKET XL and why did you decide to launch it?

THE FLEA MARKET XL is an event that I’ve organized for the fourth time, but this year we’re taking it to the next level with our biggest edition yet, at Zomerfabriek.


The idea actually started with something very simple: I realized I had so many clothes that I no longer wore, and I didn’t really know what to do with them. Of course, you can donate clothes to those big green textile containers, but I started wondering what actually happens to them afterwards. A lot of clothes that are collected eventually end up being shipped elsewhere or even in landfills and, in some cases, contributing to environmental problems.

So I wanted to create a space where people could give their clothes a second life instead. A place where everyone can sell the clothes they no longer wear, discover unique pieces from other people, and simply thrift in a fun and social environment.


That’s really where THE FLEA MARKET started: from wanting to make second-hand fashion more accessible, more fun and, most importantly, more circular. And over the years, it has grown into much more than just a place to buy and sell clothes.


Will there be more editions?

This is the fourth edition of THE FLEA MARKET, and every edition has grown a little bit more. For now, I don’t have a next edition planned. I always like to see how an event goes, listen to the community and understand what people actually need or would like to see. That’s really important to me because I believe that’s how you create an event where people genuinely want to show up for.


This year, we’re adding a lot of extra elements to make the experience bigger than just a flea market. We’ll have an upcycling workshop with Valentine Tinchant, a circular fashion designer, where people can learn how to give old pieces a new life. She’ll also be offering affordable alterations, so you can transform a piece you no longer love into something completely new.

Next to that, we’ll have a tattoo artist, a live painter creating throughout the event, and even the possibility for visitors to create their own painting.

So, will there be another edition? We’ll see! I like to take it one edition at a time, see how the community responds and then decide what comes next.


What can people expect by attending it?

People can expect a real community event for all ages. 


There will be so many things, so many corners to visit. There will obviously be a flea market with different vendors, a tattoo artist, an art expo where the art will also be for sale, workshops upcycling & painting, a Sunday jam with live musicians who will provide music and an open mic, and of course food and drinks just a whole-ass vibe.




What’s your view on second-hand and overall on circularity?

I think thrifting is so important. As a little sister, I’m used to wearing clothes from my older siblings, and I always loved that. It made me realize from a young age that clothes don’t have to belong to just one person.


As I said, when you throw clothes away, they don’t just disappear. A lot of unwanted clothing ends up being exported, dumped or incinerated, and textile waste is a huge environmental problem. The fashion industry also uses a lot of water and resources to produce new clothes, so keeping garments in use for longer can make a real difference.

For me, circularity is about sharing what we already have instead of constantly buying something new. I would love to see us simply share our closets with each other, one person’s old clothes can easily become someone else’s favourite piece.

That’s also why, at THE FLEA MARKET, I’ll be giving clothes away for free to people who can really use them, as well as to organisations that I know will do something good with them. For me, it’s about making sure clothes continue to have a purpose instead of becoming waste.



Thank you very much, Moran, for your time with us.
We can't wait to go!

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