Fashionable Philanthropy

This year's Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show at the Corn Exchange was a two-day affair, with a student night on 19 March and a more exclusive VIP event the following evening. This year’s theme centred around a surrealist concept, pitched as a "spectacle of magical reality". Raising an astonishing £30,000 for three different charities the show was a triumph, incorporating dancing, magic and glamorous collections to an exceptional soundtrack.

Thirty of Edinburgh’s most glamorous students strutted the runway in collections by an impressive array of designers, including Tommy Hilfiger, My Wardrobe, 2K Gingham, Jaeger, Peter Jensen, Walker Slater, Godiva, Nicole Fahri, Chrissy Klein as well as a number of Master's graduates. The entire show’s choreography was impressive with each walk taking on a different style in tune with each individual collection. The striking models each adopted different personas keeping the show fun and fresh. 21st Century Kilts collection was particularly noticeable, taking on a youthful twist of the original kilt design.

Arguably the most eccentric collection, meanwhile, was an assortment of extremely colourful ponchos and knits by MA graduate Hannah Taylor— the boys becoming unrecognisable as their faces were covered in knitted masks with huge pompoms on their heads. Whilst enjoyable, the Edinburgh boxers worn by the male models seemed somewhat out of place alongside the designer’s collections. The girls, however, strolled sensually down the runway in exquisite lingerie.

Every aspect of the show proved engaging—the dancers sequences between collections were beautifully choreographed and made for a nice change of scene, and huge credit should be given to student Luke Buckley who devised an outstanding soundtrack, with each song perfectly complementing the individual collections. A magic show by Drummond Money-Coutts provided light-hearted interval entertainment, whilst two auctions were held on the VIP night, with prizes ranging from a luxurious week-long holiday in Mauritius to a tennis lesson with Miss United Kingdom.

But the fun doesn't stop there, as each night saw an infamous ECFS afterparty. On the first night, the crowds decamped to George Street's Opal Lounge, while the VIP crowds headed to Hawke and Hunter for an intimate set from The Cheek.

The show's primary aim was to raise money in aid of three charities: the Scottish Association for Mental Health, Marie Curie and Poppy Scotland, all of which are planning projects in Edinburgh in the near future. A speech and film clips of each charity were shown, giving the audience the opportunity to see who and what they were supporting. These moving clips were a nice touch, emphasising the entire ECFS ethos around which the team has worked so hard over the past few months.

While the surrealist theme was not entirely clear throughout, ECFS 2010 nonetheless oozed creativity, style and professionalism. The dedicated efforts of the committee, the models and the dancers provided two nights of brilliant entertainment and helped achieve the ultimate goal of raising both money and awareness for the chosen charities.