A fashion show aiming to promote diversity in fashion and raise money for Claire House Children’s Hospice took place, marking day four of Liverpool Fashion Week.
Liverpool Fashion Live, which showcased at Pan Am saw models of all ages, sizes, races and abilities strutting their stuff down the catwalk.
Ruth Thomas and Caz Murray came up with the idea for the event, as they both work in the North West fashion industry realised they and many women like them were not recognised by traditional fashion events and shows.
Ruth, who owns online ladies fashion retailer Room31.co.uk said: “Liverpool Fashion LIVE aims to bring something completely new to Liverpool’s fashion scene. The event is all about inclusivity and ensuring that everybody has the chance to be a part of the event.”
Caz, who created The Style Factory- a social enterprise running fashion events and workshops in the community said: “We are also proud to be supporting Claire House, a ten bedded hospice located on the Wirral providing respite, end-of-life and bereavement care for children and young adults with complex medical needs.
They also support the whole family, by providing support and counselling for as long as is needed.”
A catwalk of local and national brands at the event included House of Dereon and Harry’s World, along with live entertainment and local and national stalls.
Models of Diversity (MODS) attended the event; they are an organisation who believe that models of all sizes and race should be more dominant in the industry.
Organisers are hoping that bringing something new to not only the fashion industry but Liverpool as a city will insure that the event will run for years to come.
Claire House costs £6,500 per day to run and gets only a small amount of government funding. The rest of the money has to be raised by the charity themselves.
Angella Rawsthorne, Senior Area Fundraiser for the charity said: “The reason it costs so much to run is that our children have multiple illnesses and need one on one staff, some children need two on one staff and they have to be clinically trained professionals.
The turn-out tonight is reasonable as it is the first time, hopefully next year word will spread and the people who have come tonight will have a fantastic time.”
Additional reporting by Lauren Murphy and Danielle Baldwin