The Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show

ECFS 2009 took place at the Corn Exchange, with a student night on Friday followed by a VIP evening on Saturday. Welcomed with champagne by ECFS ushers, kitted out in red military-style jackets, in keeping with the ‘revolution’ theme, the evening ahead had promise. The venue was decked out spectacularly with a double runway, two mounted screens and a DJ booth. After a somewhat nervous opening speech, the show kicked off.

Nicole Farhi’s flirtatious spring/summer collection opened the show, the floral prints and dapper suits setting the tone for the evening. Jaeger boasted a range of hareem pants, safari-chic, and elegant modernised 1940s designs. Betty Jackson’s collection showed a command of colour-scheme, with abstract prints and stunning fabrics. The boys wore Walker Slater tweeds, and escorted their girls down the runway with kitsch grins and kisses.

The highlight of the show was Artist Springboard’s selection of up-and-coming designers. Nostalgia met futurism, with longjohns made from parachute material (courtesy of Crista Leask) and exquisite reconstructed 17th century dresses by Najilaa Jabri.

Mary Mary London’s charming dresses were inspired, we are told, by childhood innocence and the English Countryside. Her collection was produced ethically, and added an element of delightful cake-shop cute. Other highlights included Bora Aksu’s draped and layered chiffons and Issa’s flawless gowns. These three women’s collections, however, were matched somewhat incongruously with men’s collections from Godiva (patchwork skulls on military jackets) and I Found This On The Street (streetwear mixed with comic masks and novel accessories).

Commendation should go to the styling, especially for the men’s collections. 21st Century Kilts, in tweed, leather and camouflage, were worn with hi-tops and graphic pop-star logo t-shirts. Yvette Jelfs’ millinery was set perfectly against the dresses.

The prodigious 22-year-old conjuror Drummond Money-Coutts provided hilarious yet utterly professional interval entertainment. He put punters on the edge of their seats with a tantalising magic trick and a raffle, engaging the audience with his witty one-liners. Saturday night—although he expressed his desire to be elsewhere, namely celebrating the Irish Grandslam victory—saw him continue the banter as he hosted the auction, helping to raise a staggering amount of money, including £6000 for a trip to Bali.

Perhaps the greatest achievement was the use of multimedia and different art forms. Dances, separating each collection, were sharply choreographed and accompanied by film montages showing the models posing atop Arthurs seat with a red "revolution" flag. An actor playing "matriarch" reacted as the clothes became more and more risqué. These sections were beautifully edited – even if their purpose was not clear.

Dickie Drysdale provided a fantastic soundtrack: Boys Noize’s Feist remix, Paper Planes remixed by DFA, Skream’s remix of the Klaxons’ ‘Not Over’ with Santogold’s ‘Creator’ vs Switch and FreQ Nasty, MGMT with Justice, and a little bit of drum 'n' bass to complement the conceptual collections.

This year, a very moving charity film was shown instead of the traditional speeches. This was a great success, and the audience left with a much greater awareness of the charities involved: Maggies Cancer Care, Motor Neurone Disease Scotland and Cavernoma Alliance UK.

After an exhilarating yet lengthy show, not finishing until 12:30 on the Saturday, it was off to Berlin nightclub on the Friday and Hawke & Hunter on the Saturday. Those with enough stamina were treated to a live acoustic set by Hugh and Luke from the Kooks, who provided an intimate performance for a rowdy crowd.

The spectacle of ECFS 09 showed prowess in its organisation and style, although the "Revolution" theme remained secondary and rather unconvincing to the outsider. "Revolting in the name of charity" was a puzzling concept, and seemed merely a tenuous link between the cause and the concept. Nonetheless, ECFS excelled in its comfort zone – it boasted glamour, style and creativity, and showed great generosity to its chosen charities.