Hawthorns Northampton Fashion Show

If you had walked into the Hawthorns Independent Retirement Community in Northampton on the evening of Tuesday 25th February, you could have easily mistaken it for a Paris catwalk! Prosecco flowing, canapés in abundance, models galore, and with an array of beautiful couture for all to see and try.

The idea of hosting a Fashion Show event for charity came from Sarah Croxtall, Senior Customer Support Manager for The Hawthorns Group and Ann Brebner, who is part of the Northampton Business Network and owner of Time For You, a domestic cleaning service in Northampton.

SOS Charity Fashion Shows provided all the fashions from the current season, with pieces from Phase Eight, Oasis, Monsoon, Next, as well as a collection of one-off Italian designer clothes. There was something for everyone’s taste and budget!

The models were all volunteers and supporters of the Lewis Foundation and were thrilled to receive hair and make-up styling from Lauren Read of Image Hairdressing in Duston, along with first dibs on the clothes they had modelled! The Lewis foundation is a charity that sources, packages and hand delivers free gifts and support packs to adult cancer patients in hospital every week.

65 people attended the event, and all the guests received a goodie bag containing several freebies and offers, all donated by local businesses. The goodies ranged from a styling session with Sarah Evans the local stylist of House of Colour based in Spratton, to a selection of wines donated by Lavinia Moore of Events in a Box based in Upton. Before the event started, guests enjoyed the hospitality of The Hawthorns while well-known local pianist Lincoln Noel entertained them.

This oh-so-trendy event raised £322 from the proceeds of a raffle and a further £573 from the ticket sales, making a grand total of £895 for the charity. Lorraine Lewis, CEO and founder of the Lewis Foundation, said, “We give out over 2,500 gift packs a month to adult cancer patients in 7 different hospitals, so they have something nice to receive. Though it may not seem like much, it has had a huge impact on the people we have supported. I can’t thank enough the staff at The Hawthorns Northampton for all their hard work in putting on an amazing night for us, and I would urge everyone to go along to the next fashion show they host!”