The only thing cooler than a ball is an opshop ball
Auckland University Fashion Society (AUFS) was created in 2019, with the purpose of uniting those with an interest in fashion and textiles through social events and exciting workshops.
AUFS is all about supporting self-expression, appreciating your own style, and creating an inclusive environment which members can feel welcome and comfortable in. We bring in a range of members from all different degrees and backgrounds. As AUFS is a social club, it provides the opportunity for members to get to know each other and develop great new friendships.
The current membership fee is only $3 for the year, giving all members access to the perks that comes along with being an AUFS member. We have sponsorships with thrift businesses Emporio U, &Again and Tatty’s. These sponsorships not only enable AUFS to work with these businesses in creative ways, but allows members to get discounts, meaning you can thrift for cheaper! Beyond thrift businesses, we also have a sponsorship at Game On, where our social events are sometimes hosted; you could also win prizes!
There are lots of different events for members to get involved with once they’ve joined AUFS. We love meeting up for casual drinks at a bar every other week, but our fashion-related events can be educational, or allow you to unleash your creativity.
AUFS aims to support sustainable fashion in a world where style and trends have been taken over by fast fashion businesses. Therefore, our events have included upcycling, thrifting together, learning how to repair your clothes and more.
Our first event of 2021 was a ‘Fabric Art and Mocktail night’, hosted on campus. AUFS had been donated offcuts and unwanted beads and jewellery, so we upcycled them. We gave our members paints, glue, and a canvas for them to make an art piece with the fabric and jewellery available. As our first event of the year, and the first since lockdown, it was a rewarding experience to see so many students get creative with the materials they had, creating some beautiful pieces of artwork to place in their homes.
This year we hosted a ‘Photoshoot Day’ where students could model the outfits they felt confident in (in case you missed Craccum’s paparazzi teams last week). Thrift crawls are an exciting part of AUFS where members can choose an Auckland suburb to thrift in, then visit all the thrift stores in the area together.
With many more events lined up for the semester, our most notable upcoming event is the ‘Op-Shop Ball’. This ball is all about students showing off their best formal thrifted finds, and gathering for a fun night of dancing, prizes and more. Hosted at Roxy at 8pm-12pm on Thursday October 7th, tickets are now live with members prices at $45 and non-members prices at $50.
We would love to have you join Fashion Society and the executive committee looks forward to seeing you at our events.
facebook: /fashionsocietyakl
instagram: @uoafashion
tiktok: @uoafashion