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Student fashion show raises £30k for refugee charities

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Posted on Friday 5 February 2016

A fashion show hosted by the University of York and featuring American Vogue editor Anna Wintour raised more than £30,000 for two charities supporting refugees.
Credit: Suzy Harrison/University of York
One of the designs on show at Central Hall

The Northern Youth Fashion Show took place at the University’s Central Hall on the 29 January and showcased the designs of students from universities across the region.

The event was organised by HARD Magazine, a fashion publication at the University of York and featured talks from Anna Wintour and Guardian editor Katharine Viner.

Proceeds from the show will be split between the Xavier Project, which runs schools, creates jobs, and offers mentoring schemes to some of the biggest refugee communities in the world and Refugee Action York, which plays a pivotal role in integrating refugees in the local area.

Ellie Wintour, one of the students involved in organising the event, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the way the evening went, we’ve raised a substantial amount of money which will really make a difference to people’s lives.” 

“We can’t thank Anna, Katharine and everybody else who was involved in the show enough for helping us to make the event such a success.”

Students from the University of York, the University of Sunderland, Leeds College of Art, Newcastle College, Hull College, the University of Central Lancashire, Liverpool John Moores University, and Leeds Beckett University took part in the event.

Along with the fashion show, the event included live performances from North Yorkshire folk singer Billie Marten and bands Friendly Fires and Metronomy.

There was also a silent auction and a raffle, which included prizes such as a Mulberry handbag, a Radley bag and a signed Roger Federer t-shirt and tennis racquet.

The event was sponsored by a number of well-known organisations, including train company Grand Central and Yorkshire Living Magazine.

The students also secured the hair brand Milkshake and makeup brands, Makeup Forever and Bobbi Brown, to sponsor the event and provide the backstage styling team.

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