In a world where sustainability has become a necessity more than ever, the fashion industry is one that should be leading the way. A young Dubai-based entrepreneur, Matthieu Schon is the founder of Selling Community, an application that allows you to sell and buy second-hand luxury goods directly on Instagram without having to pass by a third party. Recycling the clothes you don’t wear anymore or acquiring an item that’s already been worn are good first steps in the battle against waste. Mohammad Nasser, known as “Dubai_Gentle” has understood it well and has turned to Selling Community to diversify his closet while minimizing his environmental impact. Meet Matthieu and Mohammad.

Interview/Cynthia Jreige

Hello Matthieu – Can you please tell us a bit about you, the reasons behind your move to Dubai and well – Selling Community- ?

Hi Cynthia, first of all thanks for having us! My name is Matthieu Schon, I am the founder of Selling Community. Selling Community is the biggest marketplace for fashion designer clothes on Instagram and we strive to make 2^nd hand luxury clothes affordable by connecting buyers and sellers worldwide. This year we have released an app as well, that can be downloaded in the apple app store or google play store.

I moved to Dubai and opened our offices in Ajman this January. The reason behind this move was the ease of doing business in this region. The numerous fashion malls and boutiques make it easy to stay connected to the fashion world and not miss out on the latest trends. The UAE seemed to be the optimal place for us.

How would you describe consumers of second-hand fashion in the UAE from your experience? Is there a big demand or is it a bit shy?

Our platform has sellers all over the world, so we haven’t been able to really experience the markets here. But I think there is a huge potential since everyone has so many designer items, handbags etc.

In my opinion it’s just a matter of time until people get used to buying and selling designer clothes over the internet.

Buying and selling clothes without participating in consuming new goods is a form of sustainability – Is this something you’re sensible to?

Yes I believe it’s essential to be able to re-use goods and share them with others. For instance we have a lot of sellers that buy a handbag and after 2-3 months of using it, they list it online again and sell it to the next person. With the money earned from that sale they buy a new item again so it becomes like a loop and everyone gets to experience new items all the time without the carbon footprint of having to manufacture a new bag.

I like how the way people consume fashion has changed over the recent years. I feel like a lot of people nowadays prefer having a high quality European made 2^nd hand item over having mass produced items that they would throw after wearing once. I think that approach is much more sustainable, that’s why it’s important to me to offer a platform to our community that lets them sell there 2^nd hand clothes in an easy and safe way.

How did your collaboration with Dubai_Gentle start?

I met Dubai Gentle when I arrived here in the UAE. I was able to connect with him via Instagram and we became good friends. We realized that both of us have big amounts of followers on social media so we started collaborating to help each other out.

MOHAMMAD NASSER

You’re known as the Dubai_Gentle on Instagram, why this nick name?

Hello my name is Mohammad and I am from Dubai. To be honest the decision of choosing this name came randomly to me. I started with Instagram in 2012 and back then it wasn’t like today. People didn’t really know what to do with it and it was all new. So I just chose a name and stuck with it over the years.

How do you distinguish yourself on a social media platform that has over a billion people in activity?

My passion is photography, I like choosing the perfect angles and delivering the best possible quality for my photos. At the end of the day that’s what it’s about for me. I don’t care what other people do as long as I can offer quality to my followers and give them something to be inspired from.

Mohammad Nasser, @dubai_gentle on Instagram

What do you think of reselling opportunities offered by spaces such as Selling Community? What’s your first intention when you visit such a platform?

I love using platforms to buy and sell my designer clothes, because like everyone else I get tired of certain clothes after a while and then I need a place to sell them. Matthieu has been able to help me a lot with that.

What does a day in the life of Dubai_Gentle looks like?

I am an early morning person, I like waking up at around 6am eating breakfast and then going to work. After around 2 pm I usually finish but it depends on the tasks that need to be done in my business.

What are your plans for the future?

Im not sure actually, if I will continue with being active on Instagram as much as I did the last years. The reason for that is that I am planning to focus on family more in the upcoming years. It will be a really important part of my life for me and I want to make sure to give it all I got and avoid distractions.

You can start shopping and selling on Selling Community here or through Instagram here

Follow @Dubai_Gentle here

Cover Picture @Jdeedstudio