Well known Suffolk personalities will take to the catwalk during a charity’s record attempt for the world’s longest fashion show.
The Blossom Charity, which is based in Thorndon, near Eye, is looking to rival fashion capitals Milan, Paris and New York when it hosts the 30-hour show at Woolverstone Hall, near Ipswich, next month.
The charity, which helps empower women, is also selling raffle tickets with prizes including tickets to see Ed Sheeran in Vienna, with flights and accommodation included.
Familiar faces modelling some of the 900 outfits on show include former Ipswich Town players, John Wark and Russell Osman, and business leaders such as Adnams CEO Andy Wood, Nicky Dulieu from Notcutts, Minnie Moll of the Co-op and Norwich entrepreneur Patrick Smith. Lynn Walters, of Pure Resourcing Solutions and James Brown, from Grant Thornton will also be taking part in the event, which starts at 3pm on Friday, October 13.
Divided into 15 two-hour shows, the Guinness Word Record attempt has been organised to support the charity’s work in East Anglia inspiring confidence among women through coaching, mentoring, makeovers and style consultancy.
Guests will be able to view fashion, enjoy food and participate in supporting fundraising activities.
Tickets for the raffle are already available, with other prizes including a 32GB iPad and two “Diamond styling days” worth £175 up for grabs.
The styling days are from dream on, a community interest company, which runs alongside the Blossom Charity, to support personal development.
Bridget McIntyre, founder of The Blossom Charity and dream on, said: “We’re raring to go in our attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest fashion show.
“We’ve been working hard to plan a big-scale event and we’ve got some fabulous outfits lined up for our models to wear, with the womenswear being supplied by dream on and the menswear by Jarrold, the Norwich-based department store.
“It’s a really fun way to raise awareness of The Blossom Charity as fashion plays such a big part in the work we do. Giving a woman a new style is a really powerful technique for helping her to express her personality and this is the perfect opportunity to showcase this new-found confidence and inspire others to do something outside of their comfort zone.”
Sophie Underwood, who found the confidence to pursue her career after receiving support from the charity, said: “This is a hugely exciting event to be part of, I think that it’s very brave and will definitely be a lot of fun.” BCA.com said it was delighted to sponsor the event and very proud of the charity’s work.
Tickets for the two-hour shows start from £5, with a pass for the whole event costing £25. To book tickets, apply to be a model, or to buy £1 raffle tickets email here or call 01379 678483.
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