Project Managers
Alistair Ng · Willion Yap
RENEUU is an integrated sustainable-fashion campaign and experimental pop-up thrift store that challenged the commodification of sustainability within thrift culture. Community-donated garments became the raw material for nearly 40 renewed products, a public-facing brand, and an exhibition designed to make repair and transformation feel accessible.
My role
Co-leading one idea across a very large team.
As Project Managers, Willion Yap and I led the full project: aligning departments, managing timelines and finances, facilitating communication, resolving production issues, and keeping every output connected to one direction. Concept development was collaborative, but we made the final calls on how the research, identity, products, campaign, and exhibition linked together.
RENEUU became one of my favourite projects to work on. I had always enjoyed researching and connecting ideas, but leading a group at this scale showed me that I could turn that strength into leadership. Co-managing the project helped me build confidence, communicate more decisively, and guide many different contributions into a result that felt genuinely cohesive.
01 — The starting point
When sustainability becomes another commodity
Thrifting can reduce waste, but it can also become another trend-driven form of consumption. As second-hand fashion becomes increasingly curated and premiumised, higher prices and constant trend cycles can make sustainable participation less accessible while repeating many of the same consumption habits under a greener label.
RENEUU responded by asking how unwanted clothing could regain value through participation, repair, and creative transformation, rather than simply being resold.
02 — Repair to bloom
A concept built around visible renewal
Kintsugi and the lotus became two key references for RENEUU. Kintsugi finds value in repair rather than hiding damage, while the lotus represents renewal and growth from overlooked beginnings. Together, they shaped our idea of transformation: something worn or discarded does not need to return to its original state to become valuable again.
This thinking was carried into the RENEUU identity. The logo takes its form from a blooming lotus, while its repeating curved shapes also resemble a stylised recycling symbol. It brings renewal and circularity into a single mark, reflecting RENEUU’s aim to give unwanted clothing another life through repair, reuse, and creative transformation. This idea is carried through the phrases “Repair to Bloom” and “Repaired to Bloom,” framing transformation both as an ongoing act and as the renewed state that follows.
Lastly, RENEUU reframes “renew,” with its final sound represented as a “double U”, reinforcing the idea of giving existing materials a new beginning.
03 — Project direction
Turning many workstreams into one system
Four departments developed the project in parallel, making precise planning and scheduling essential. As Project Managers, our responsibility was to coordinate research, product development, campaign communication, documentation, and the physical experience within one structured timeline, ensuring each department could progress without losing sight of the same overall direction.
Shared Miro boards tracked responsibilities, research, timelines, budgets, spatial planning, and key decisions. A significant amount of research went into each stage to ensure that the concept, sustainability principles, visual identity, products, campaign, and exhibition supported one another rather than functioning as separate outputs. Coordinating so many moving parts was not always easy, but constant communication and planning kept the four departments working cohesively. Willion and I helped resolve how these different workstreams connected and made the final calls needed to bring them together as one coherent project.
04 — From donation to product
Collect, clean, repair, reconstruct
A three-day “Dump Your Ex... Jeans” drive invited the community to donate unwanted clothing, which was then sorted, washed, and passed to the Design Department for repair, reconstruction, and creative transformation.
I also supported the Social Media Department by conceptualising and editing a promotional skit inspired by KATSEYE’s viral GAP campaign. Its denim-focused imagery naturally connected with RENEUU’s materials and visual identity, allowing us to respond to a current cultural moment while promoting the drive.
From an initial target of approximately 20 products, the designers ultimately created more than 40+ fashion and functional pieces, turning donated clothing into the physical expression of RENEUU’s Repair to Bloom philosophy.
Visit @reneuu.co ↗05 — Campaign communication
Making the transformation visible
Photo and video documented the full transformation behind RENEUU, including behind-the-scenes footage of the sewing, reconstruction, and hands-on work required to turn donated garments into finished pieces. This made the labour behind Repair to Bloom part of the story rather than only showing the final outcomes.
Considerable time was also spent in the studio photographing and filming the completed garments. A dedicated model shoot brought the individual pieces together as a cohesive fashion line, while giving the Social Media Department a strong library of visual material for promotional and educational content across the campaign.
External model: Rami Mir · @ramiiii_0.0_
06 — Spatial experience
Designing a
pop-up store, not a static display
With all four departments fully occupied with their respective deliverables, Willion and I took sole responsibility for planning and developing the exhibition as Project Managers. This allowed the other teams to stay focused on their work while we translated their outputs into one cohesive physical experience.
We developed the space from early sketches, bubble diagrams, and floor plans through to 3D visualisation, sourcing, fabrication, setup, and dismantling. Rather than presenting the outcomes as a conventional exhibition, we designed the space as an experimental pop-up thrift store where visitors could browse, touch, try on, and purchase the reconstructed pieces.
Sustainability also shaped how the space was built. Reused, donated, borrowed, and leftover materials became displays and installations, while the suspended before-and-after imagery, mirror, digital booklet, feedback notes, and voting activity brought the transformation story into the space and encouraged visitors to participate rather than simply observe.
07 — Build & outcome
From plans to a working retail environment
Bringing the plans into reality required adapting to practical and safety constraints during the build. Elements that could not be executed as originally intended were repurposed rather than discarded, allowing us to preserve both the visual direction and our commitment to reducing unnecessary material waste.
The final pop-up functioned as an actual retail environment, with visitors browsing, trying on, and purchasing the reconstructed pieces. With an overall budget of approximately RM300, we kept the exhibition intentionally resource-conscious. Product prices were also kept deliberately affordable, returning to the original accessibility of thrifting rather than turning upcycled clothing into another premium commodity.
Despite the accessible pricing, product sales reached RM196 during the exhibition. More importantly, several visitors asked whether RENEUU was an established brand rather than a student project, an unexpected response that reflected how cohesively the identity, products, campaign, and physical space had come together.
~40renewed products
RM304collective budget
RM196product sales
2 dayspublic exhibition
Designers
Jing Wen · Wen Qian · Xin Yen · Kah Yi (Jia) · Nikko Chai · Hui Xin · Shan Yong
Social Media
Angilica Chalean · Adele Lim · Tammy Chong · Shin Er
Photo & Video
Jing Xian · WenZhuo · Zhi Qi
08 — The team
Sixteen people, four connected departments
RENEUU brought together sixteen people across four specialised departments, each responsible for a different part of the project. Design transformed the donated garments; Social Media shaped the campaign’s public voice; Photo & Video documented the process and produced the final visual content; while Project Management connected the workstreams and developed the exhibition that brought everything together.
Working at this scale meant constantly communicating across different schedules, priorities, and responsibilities. Not everything moved at the same pace, but each department contributed its own expertise and adapted when another team needed support. What began as four separate workstreams ultimately became one shared project, made possible by the collective effort behind Team RENEUU.
09 — Final documentary
The complete RENEUU journey
Produced by the Photo & Video Department, this documentary brings together the full RENEUU journey, from early research and the donation drive to garment reconstruction, campaign production, exhibition setup, and the final public experience. Using footage gathered throughout the project, it captures not only the finished outcomes, but also the people, labour, and process behind RENEUU.
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Alistair Ng
alistair.ngyc@gmail.com