Vintage market brings fashion to Augusta

By Amy Zhou | Editor in chief

Tucked inside a ballroom at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center in the heart of downtown Augusta, a lively scene unfolded at noon Saturday, Aug. 29. 

The VSA Vintage Market, originally a popular South Carolina pop-up event, made its way down to Augusta and brought together local artists and vintage clothing vendors. 

Upon entering, shoppers were met by rows of racks filled with vintage Y2K fashion.

One of the market’s many vintage vendors and coordinators was Jacob McCarthy, a Knoxville, Tenn., resident and Augusta native.

McCarthy started his business, Betterwill, last September, and now travels full time across the country, curating and selling authentic vintage clothing. 

However, McCarthy said returning to Augusta always holds a special place in his heart.

“Augusta is my hometown,” McCarthy said when asked about his favorite part of the Augusta vintage market. “I travel a lot for these, and even though this is quite a bit of a drive, it's home.”

According to McCarthy, Augusta has a newer but growing vintage market. 

Daiquan Hunt, founder of the VSA Vintage Market, poses in front of vendors during the market on Aug. 29. (photo by Lara Shayeb/the Bell Ringer)

As shoppers walk around the convention center, rifling through collections of vintage jeans, baby tees, accessories and shoes, they might run into the man behind it all: Daiquan Hunt. 

Hunt, originally from Greenville, S.C., is the founder of the VSA Vintage Market. 

“I've been reselling vintage goods like clothing, purses and watches for about six years now,” Hunt said. 

Hunt began hosting vintage markets in Greenville in 2020 and expanded to other cities two years later.

He quickly realized that curating and reselling clothing was not a one-person job and that building a strong community through attending local events and networking was essential.

“Going to those types of events for so long, you naturally start talking to different people,” Hunt said. “Over the years, you just create a contact list of people who do what you do and enjoy the things you enjoy.” 

VSA Vintage Market hosts a market once a month. Like McCarthy, returning to Augusta is always a meaningful experience for Hunt.

A shopper browses a rack of Y2K clothing at the VSA Vintage Market at the Augusta Marriott. (photo by Lara Shayeb/the Bell Ringer)

“Whenever the city comes out and shows support at the rate that Augusta does, it makes you want to go down,” Hunt said.

Hunt is also interested in bringing VSA Vintage Market directly to Augusta University’s campus to make it more accessible to students.

“I think this event would do well on campus,” Hunt said. “College kids and that age group really enjoy vintage fashion.” 

Bringing VSA Vintage Market to Augusta began as an experiment that quickly proved successful. Now, Hunt hopes to do the same on campus. 

“We're trying to get that working,” Hunt said. “It's a lengthy process, but hopefully it happens.”

Contact Amy Zhou at amyzhou@augusta.edu.