Thursday April 26 and Friday April 27 marked another successful two-night charity fashion show hosted by Malvern students, teachers and community.
Malvern’s Night Out is an annual fashion show organized and executed by student volunteers to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause. Student volunteers sported donated clothing from local stores and high-end brands as they strutted their stuff down the runway. As many as 150 students participated as models, choreographers, stage and lighting crew and art directors. Nearly 600 people came out to support the event and watch an amazing show!
Every year the Fashion Show Committee at Malvern chooses a cause that they would like to support, and to which they donate the proceeds of the show. This year, the Red Door Family Shelter was chosen.
The Red Door Family Shelter is an organization that provides a safe haven for women and their children fleeing violence, eviction, homelessness and other issues. In the past the committee has chosen many environmental causes, but wanted to spotlight local issues. Committee members heard about the shelter through word of mouth, and decided to choose this charity for the fashion show because it is important to shed light on the problems these women and their families face. 100 per cent of the proceeds are going straight to the Red Door Family Shelter, supplemented by a generous $300 donation from MEI Academy. It is a great cause, and we at Malvern are very happy to be supporting it!
This year, two grade 12 Malvern students, Sophie Wolpert and Bronte Martin, co-directed the show and led a committee of 14 other grade 12 students to make the event memorable. They have both been avidly involved in the Malvern Fashion Show since grade 9, and hope to pursue fashion in some way in the future. The girls worked tirelessly putting the show together starting in late August 2011, and it paid off. They were both pleased with the outcome of the shows, and honoured to have organized it.
Every year the fashion show gets an amazing roster of stores to donate their clothing for the models to wear. Local stores like Boa, and some new ones like Roots and Lavish and Squalor, were some of the many stores included on this list. Fashions from two student designers – Marisa Musing and Zoe Seglins – along with t-shirts made by the Malvern Art Club were featured in the show. The t-shirts were on sale before, during and after the show, and were a huge success!
Stores like Roots and Lavish and Squalor weren’t the only new features added to the show this year. An amazing hair team led by Sarma Malins and an awesome make-up team led by Melissa Markovich created cool looks for each scene and really added to the overall ‘high fashion’ look. Crimped, teased and corn rowed models enjoyed their super hairstyles! They also introduced a DJ to mix and play music throughout the show. DJ Melanie Sutherland was a hit and kept the crowd pumped throughout the night.
Sophie, Bronte and the entire committee wanted these shows to be spectacular events that will be remembered. The title Malvern’s Night Out was based on the iconic Fashion’s Night Out event hosted worldwide. This is an event where editors, stars, models, photographers and many other people in the fashion industry celebrate the roles they play in influencing fashion around the world. There are more than 18 countries which celebrate this night every September with more than 4,500 events in the United States alone. Malvern really wanted to incorporate all those who are interested in fashion and to highlight their talents on stage, or behind the scenes, and make this a wonderful charity event for the entire community to enjoy.
Sophie, Bronte and the rest of the grade 12 committee members leave this year with amazing memories from the shows. They will be handing the torch to soon-to-be seniors Kate Safarian and Callan Rolfe-Hughes as co-directors.
“It would not have been this big without the support of the community. Big thanks to all who were involved!” said Sophie.
I personally had an amazing experience being able to work with all the wonderful people who were involved. It was really fun to be able to learn choreography, experiment with fashion, dance on stage, and most importantly, raise money for a great cause while doing it. The whole crew and committee would like to thank everyone who participated and watched, and we hope to see you all next year!
Avery Johnstone is a student writer attending Malvern Collegiate Institute.
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