As shoppers were getting in the swing of holiday shopping last December, Surrey Quays Shopping Centre presented its Christmas gift to customers a little early: an entire day of special events focused on fashion.
Dubbed Fashion Unwrapped, the programme opened with an Eco-Fashion Show, where budding designers showcased their creations. The presenting artists were actually the finalists from the South London Schools Eco-Fashion Design Competition, which attracted nearly 250 junior and senior pupils.
The kids had previously honed their skills in recycling workshops run by TRAID (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development), a UK fashion recycling charity1, on 12th, 13th, 15th and 19th November.
Participants were handed a random assortment of second-hand clothes to customise and turn into recycled fashions. A recycling design quiz by CRISP (Community Recycling in Southwark Project) then followed.
According to Surrey Quays, 40 South London school children modelled their eco-fashion designs live on stage before a panel of fashion industry judges that comprised of stylist to the stars Bradley Taylor; Kevin Quinn, managing director of Southwark News; Annette Roach, product manager, River Island; and Rose Haslam, duty manager at Surrey Quays.
Each of the eight schools had selected five of its best designs to go through to the Eco-fashion Show, and the centre said these were judged on creativity, flair, eco-awareness, current fashion trends, quality and finish.
Stratford School in Newham took top prize for best overall design, receiving its award from deputy mayor of Southwark, Mackie Sheik, while the title in the junior category went to Holy Trinity Church Primary School in Lambert, earning both schools a computer—the prizes were re-purposed machines, formerly used by a London business, and which were cleared of all data, safety tested, pre-installed with open source software and included a six-month return-to-base warranty. And there were other prizes handed out that day as well, including tickets to see Disney’s Lion King, shopping vouchers from JD Sports and Odeon cinema tickets.
Following the 11am show, the Celebrity Style Makeover Challenge took center stage at 1pm and again at 2.30pm. Six lucky shoppers were chosen for the challenge, which Taylor oversaw.
The presenter for BBC1's Inside Out programme and a radio host on BBC Leeds and 5live, Taylor is well known in the fashion industry, dressing the likes of Liv Tyler and Catherine Zeta Jones. He presided over the live makeovers on stage, heading a team of hairdressers and makeup artists.
Away from the live transformations, shoppers uncovered the latest styles that could spruce up their own wardrobes, as professional models showcased Autumn/Winter collections from Surrey Quays retailers. Some of the participating merchants, including Ernest Jones, H. Samuel, Revolver, Phones 4 U and Currys.digital, made the featured merchandise that much more appealing by offering a 10-percent discount the day of the event.