The annual Fashion Show, orchestrated by Lesley Farrow of Niche, is one of the highlights of Rye’s spring calendar. This year saw a packed audience in the community centre on Conduit Hill, some with bespoke tables booked in advance. A line up of Lesley’s younger and older “girls” each gracefully paraded Niche’s finery to purchase afterwards from the shop just down the hill. The “girls” did their stuff all for the aid of local charities while ladies (and even a few men) whispered their preferences to each other while sipping glasses of complimentary bubbly. A spontaneous round of applause went to Jane Conlin, the “Anna Wintour of Rye”, when she jumped up from the audience wearing the same stunning knee length coat with neck warming collar, as one of the models. They paraded arm-in-arm up and down the catwalk much to the delight of all who admire Jane’s year-round sartorial elegance!
Serious snippets of conversation were heard about different outfits, colours and fabrics including trousers, from diaphanous to denim, topped by jackets, in suede and summery lightweight easy-to-care-for cloth, along with essential reasonably priced camisoles in cotton and silk, with or without frilly edges.
Straw bags by Jacksons, some with slogans on them like PEACE MAN, were made by Bangladeshi women who have for 15 years been developing their bag-making businesses to support their families and local schools. There were fewer dresses and skirts this year. One outstanding ensemble stood out for this reviewer from other floral prints and juicy summery colours: Grizas, a Lithuanian company, focusses on slow fashion using natural fibres like cotton, linen and wool. Their light flowing soft summery creamy dress with jacket in an unusual geometric print of big oval shapes is perfect for warm days and feminine elegance for all occasions.
Outfits designed for comfort and everyday beauty to fit all shapes and waistlines were a feature of this year’s show. Established brands like Sahara and the wonderful perennial eco-conscious Elemente Clemente found us all wishing for warm summer moonlit dinners, relaxed parties and special holidays. At the interval when Rocking Reg and his mate John strummed their guitars singing a rousing version of.. ’I am leaving on a jet plane… kiss me and smile for me’… etc etc this reviewer was mentally packing her suitcase.
As the cost of living goes up this summer and international supply chains are being threatened by wars and struggling economies around the world we can all be mindful of the sustainable fashion maxim ‘Buy less Buy with Care’.
This year’s Fashion Show year raised a total of £1650. Penny Downes sends her appreciation on behalf of the £825 given to the foodbank. “We are so grateful for such a substantial donation, especially at a time when so many households are struggling and so many charities are competing for what little funding is available. We are entirely run by volunteers, so every penny raised from the wonderful fashion show will go towards providing emergency food parcels.”
Pat the Bus offered her thanks for the £825 which goes to the community bus. “What a great evening! Lesley cares so much about Rye and its people (remember in lockdown she kept changing what was in the shop window to give us a bit of a lift and remind us that life was still there) and she is a terrific supporter of the foodbank and the bus. The show was such fun…we love how Lesley puts outfits together giving us fresh ideas for our wardrobes. So thank you Lesley for your donation and for making us feel so happy and cheerful!”
Image Credits: Susan Benn .