IBP’s INSPIRING DIVERSITY Fashion Show – London 2011- Sponsored By Amway

Saturday, 17th September – the time had come! It was the big day of our Inspiring Diversity Fashion Show – sponsored by Amway. For weeks and week we worked alongside Amway staff members to organise, promote and prepare everything for our first ever Fashion Show in aid of our project in Nepal.

Designers had to be found, models to be selected and volunteers to be sources. IBP volunteers worked hard on this and were happy for all the support received from our sponsor Amway who helped a large deal with the management of the logistics involved.

The hard work continued on the day itself; a lot had to be done…. Was it even possible to fit everything into the next 8 hours before the show was about to start? Let me tell you this – even with more challenges arising throughout the day – yes, it was! With such a wonderful team, we managed to get everything ready for this incredible event!

4 amazing international designers arrived with their assistants – two of them all the way from Holland.
10 beautiful models were prepared with make-up and hair, ready for the catwalk.
Our photographer Peter Wtulich (http://www.wix.com/peterw2lich/home-website#!portfolio) had his camera ready. And our wonderful host Zoe Hardman was all set to get the show started.

After a drinks reception in the main area of Amway’s Flagship Centre in Holborn, guests were invited to the upstairs area, which we had transformed into a stunning setting for our catwalk show.

First up was Taiwanese designer Hsin-Yu Lin (www.linhsinyu.com). Her fashion was dominated by flowers and light fabrics, which made the models look beautifully fairy-like.

Next up was z-mode (www.zmode.co.uk). The amazing lady behind this label – Victoria Rangayah – kindly lent her dresses to our host and myself (Theresa) and I must admit, I felt glamorous in it! There was a variety of dresses shown on the catwalk all incredibly elegant.

During the break to follow, guests had the opportunity to mingle, try Amway’s products and enjoy the delicious canapés. Our special guests of the evening – Nepalese Ambassador His Excellency Dr. Chalise and Michael Meissner – seemed to enjoy the evening along with all other guests.

During the break guests also had the chance to bid on the auction items donated generously by our designers. Also we auctioned framed drawings by Nepalese children.

Back up to the second half of the show starting with Dutch Ethical designer Rianne de Witte. Her feminine gowns can be worn for many occasions and were made of the most beautiful materials and patterns (http://store.riannedewitte.com/).

The grand finale of the show began with a dress-making presentation by Sheguang Hu (www.hufashion.com). The Chinese-Dutch designer who brought along his hairdresser (who is also the personal hairstylist of the Dutch Queen) and showed his all in red glamorous collection.

After this inspiring show it was time to go over to Holborn House for our After-Show Party. We celebrated with designers, models and guests until the early hours of the morning. Some of them were especially pleased when we announced the lucky winners of our raffle. No wonder with prizes like: a weeks accommodation in an Italian holiday home.

Even though it was a long and stressful day, for many of us this has been one of the best experiences so far…and the excitement still kept 1 or 2 IBP volunteers awake when it was finally time to sleep…and dream of our next Fashion Show!

We are all so grateful for having met so many amazing people along the way and are thankful for everyone who has participated to make yet another successful event happen!

Theresa (IBP Events Manager)

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 24th, 2011 at 6:35 pm and is filed under Charity News, Fundraising Events, Inspired By People, Trauma recovery centre Nepal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.