Y2K isn’t ‘just a trend’ for SU student-founded vintage brand Releigh Freya
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In 2019, Orezimena “Rezi” Ubogu was a bored high school freshman. Looking at her closet filled with old athletic shorts and Nike soccer windbreakers, Ubogu decided it was time for a purge. So, she downloaded the Depop app on her phone.
Ubogu became obsessed with fashion, oftentimes catching herself at second-hand shops and estate sales on the weekend. Out of thrift store bins and Ebay bidding wars, her business Releigh Freya was born.
“It started as just a closet clean out,” Ubogu said. “I was making a little bit of money that I could spend on whatever I was doing, like getting acai bowls after school.”
Releigh Freya took off when Ubogu, a Syracuse University senior, started seeing “little side hustle” pop-ups grow into brick-and-mortar storefronts that frequent vintage markets like Keep Going Market and Bound Vintage. By the end of high school, Ubogu outgrew her “shy” phase and embraced the flashy, vibrant aesthetics that make her business what it is today.
The name Releigh Freya came from Ubogu’s “cringey 2010s preteen” years, she said. Ubogu loved the name Riley but wanted to add more of her personality, which led to adding the extra E’s. The business started as “Releigh’s Finds,” but Ubogu felt her Depop’s name was still too boring.
“I went on Google and searched for aesthetic last names or something,” Ubogu said. “So, I found Freya and put it together and thought, ‘OK, this sounds a little chic, a little expensive.’ I just ran with it from there.”
Ubogu said thrifting is in her blood. Her grandmother and great aunt introduced her to vintage shopping at age 7 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It quickly became a family tradition.
She now majors in television, radio and film and English and textual studies at SU. Ubogu’s been sourcing clothes for almost seven years, but SU is where her business took off. In her sophomore year, Ubogu attended her first clothing sale pop-up with University Girl Magazine.
Orezimena “Rezi” Ubogu’s clothing collection includes sequined Bebe tops and lacy Victoria’s Secret lingerie. Her love of fashion began when her grandmother and great-aunt introduced her to vintage shopping at age 7. Alex Rice | Asst. Digital Editor
Recent SU alum Bella Tabak met Ubogu while the two were on staff at University Girl magazine. After her first market, Tabak watched Releigh Freya grow from a side hustle to a brand with personality. Seeing Ubogu build her brand and relationship with local vintage sellers this fall gave her “FOMO,” Tabak said.
Whether it be a 2000s Tony the Tiger tankini set or 1990s leather boots, every piece is curated to have character, Tabak said. Her favorite Releigh Freya piece she owns is a sparkly sequined bag she bought last semester. Tabak was planning on wearing it to New York City pride last June, but couldn’t fit it in her suitcase.
“I haven’t had the honor of styling it yet,” Tabak said.
Identity and self-confidence is another important part of Releigh Freya. Born in Ohio and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Ubogu initially avoided including herself or even her hand in her Depop listings.
“There have been racial tensions at every point in my life,” Ubogu said. “And what that meant for being a Black woman showing my hand in the picture of a Depop listing; I was cautious that it would affect my margins.”
Embracing her identity while running a business has been a “journey,” Ubogu said. As a queer woman of color, incorporating identity with style became crucial to the success and integrity of her brand, Ubogu said.
“What are the ramifications of me looking the way that I do in this, in this space? And how can I amplify my voice and other people in this community with my business as a vessel,” Ubogu said.
Ubogu’s individuality partly drew Tabak to Releigh Freya as well.
“It was really refreshing to know another queer woman on campus who was curating,” Tabak said. “That ties back into her asking me if I wore anything to pride. As another queer woman I feel like that identity is important with who you’re curating for.”
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Charlene Nomeny, Ubogu’s friend and SU senior, considers her style “edgier.” Nomeny enjoys the aesthetics that Releigh Freya makes accessible to all audiences.
“A Black woman owning this 90s, Y2K brand is kind of ironic,” Nomeny said. “There’s the representation she brings that could be considered rebellion.”
Ubogu’s knowledge and thoughtful curation helps her stand out from the “fast fashion” market through her second-hand sourcing skills, Nomeny said. Although Nomeny has seen her peers move away from the “Y2K resurgence” in fashion, the style has never been “just a trend” in Ubogu’s life, Nomeny said.
What is Ubogu’s style? With the tagline “Your closet’s latest obsession,” Ubogu aims to make your other clothes jealous when you bring home your newest Releigh Freya piece.
“It’s things that you would see in your cooler older sister’s room and you would want to steal, but she would immediately know that you had it because she knows you don’t have anything that cool,” Ubogu said.
Tabak describes Ubogu’s curation as “fun and playful,” and scrolling through Releigh Freya’s Depop page of bright bold colors and patterns proves it. Sequined Bebe tops, lacy Victoria’s Secret lingerie and Releigh Freyas’s signature cherry stem logo fill its Instagram page, reflecting the “cool 2000s mall rat” vibe, Ubogu said.
The first time Nomeny helped Ubogu at one of Releigh Freya’s vintage markets, it was a hot day without a tent. The clothes sparkled and glittered in the sunlight “like a disco ball,” Nomeny said.
“I feel like that just sums it up,” Nomeny said. “Bright and cute and sparkly, that’s Rezi and her clothes.”
If it weren’t for SU, Releigh Freya wouldn’t be what it is today.
“People meet me, people know that I go to Syracuse,” Ubogu said. “I’ve found a place in this community, and I deserve to have those moments of pride for myself and what I’ve built.”
DISCLAIMER: Bella Tabak formerly contributed an opinion column for The Daily Orange. Tabak’s column did not influence the editorial content of this article.
