On Friday night, I attended the REDRESS fashion show at my university’s Guild, the student union. The event was organised by the People and Planet Society and was to raise awareness of the exploitation of workers in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. The evening began with an excellent student band called ‘Barcode’ who sang a variety of classic and popular songs, whilst dressed down, as it was ‘just a charity fashion show’; they didn’t want to get all dressed up, presumably in non-ethical clothing! After the band, I ran upstairs to hit the vintage market stalls and Go Green Swap Shop that was set up in order to raise money for charity. I managed to find a fabulous little black leather long-strapped bag and a super, metallic 80s waist belt from the vintage stalls.

The show started, fashionably late, with a casual runway with T-shirts from ethical clothing company Level Pegging. All of the models were students, and some were better than others. One in particular that caught my eye was a graceful, tall, slender redhead who pounded the catwalk just like a professional. Something that she should definitely consider! 

The second round was entitled the hippy round and featured clothing from Nomad. At times the models weren’t ready in time, so the chirpy presenter had the crowd do mexican waves and chant “We heart Ethical Trade!”, which was good fun! Reworked, ethical, vintage clothing filled the runway along the themes of gothic and vintage look. The idea behind this is ‘clothes with a history’ and the recycling of old clothes as an alternative to the High Street. The final part was underwear, but not Victoria Secret-style, nor ‘second-hand, dirty, vintage’. Models wore ‘pants to poverty’ knickers and cotton vests and looked casual and happy as they declared ‘Pants to Poverty‘ and encouraged us to REDRESS FASHION.

All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable night and I’d love to see something like it again some time. The event has totally turned me on to looking out for ethical fashion, re-using and recycling my old clothes and I definitely want to explore more in Birmingham, starting the Vintage Market every Saturday in Digbeth.

Expect more blogs to come on vintage and ethical fashion in the future!