On Wednesday Shang Ting and Stacey headed to Alwoodley to check out the Ethical Fashion Show at Seventeen Restaurant, in aid of St Gemma's Hospice. The event featured a catwalk show, stalls and live music. We asked the girls what they had made of the evening:
So how was the event?
Shang Ting:
The whole event had a very vintage feel. Not only did the catwalk showcase the ethical brands, but also vintage shops, organic shops, Bethany Jane Davies vintage make overs, and they even booked a 1940s style act called The Old Time String Band! Since St. Gemma's Hospice works with many charity shops in Leeds, I thought it was a good approach to brand the event as vintage, especially more and more young people in Leeds are adopting a vintage retro style.
Stacey:
We arrived just after 7.30 and we were greeted by two lovely girls who gave us a little gift bag to share which included samples from the Body Shop and Paul Mitchell. We then headed to the bar for a nice drink and after we checked out the stalls which included some nice vintage boob-tube dresses, some vegetarian shoes and a velvet corset wedding dress (which Shang Ting liked ;-) ). Shortly after taking a few snaps we sat down to watch the show which began at 8.15. Live music was provided before and during the intervals of the fashion show by the singing duo Daisy and Martyn; The Old Time String Band and they were delightful. The models were from our very own Roller derby team and they modeled free of charge for this good cause. The hair and make-up of each girl was retro and glamourous. The girls were all different shapes and sizes but they all pulled off everything and it was refreshing to see such a variety of looks. We then took part in a raffle and we won one of the prizes provided by Ringlit, which was a pack that contained a scarf and some vintage gloves. Nice :-)
Who was your favorite designer at the event?
Shang Ting
Birds Yard / Birdshell Boutique had quite a lot of trendy designs, it was a pleasant surprise to see them use recycled and different fabrics to construct new garments and even couture. Though I have to give my award to Izzy lane who use their own wool and I thought their collections were of a good quality technically.
Stacey:
Although Izzy Lane had some amazing coats i must say that my favourite clothing range came from Birdshell Vintage. So many colours and styles!
Any observations?
Shang Ting:
Attending events like this is always much more then just a fashion show. We see the new ways people are using different materials to create interesting garments. We also discover new talent in Leeds like the wonderful band that night and vintage hair and make-up artist that I had never known before.
Stacey:
I thought the St Gemmas representative/presenter of the show was very nice and enthusiastic. It would have nice to have a little more information in the program.
Visit the St Gemma's site here and see our previous report from the St Gemma's Vintage Fair here