Next Thursday the Leeds RAG Fashion Show promises to take us on a whirlwind journey of high fashion as it considers fashion through the looking glass.

From Hansel and Gretel inspired scenes to the Magician’s hat of Lewis Carroll’s wonderland adventures, we are set to re-live our favourite fairytales with a twist.

“Apart from offering a little something for everyone I think it’s the glamour of the event that draws so many people in. Something our student lives rarely see and for such fantastic causes why not splash out a little to see the incredible spectacle that is Leeds RAG Fashion Show 2015?”

This year the show supports two prominent charities; Leeds Mind and The Richard Mayne Foundation. The Richard Mayne Foundation was established in memory of Leeds University student Richard Franklin Mayne who tragically died last year on Flight MH17.

We caught up with housemates of Richard – Piers Cottee-Jones and Rob Clack. Richard lived with his diabetes for 12 years and always believed that money raised should be used to help local causes. Established in Leicester, the town in which Richard grew up, The Richard Mayne Foundation helps young people in this area with childhood Type 1 Diabetes.”Richard was an incredible friend to so many people and I think the foundation is a way people can honour the memory of someone that meant a huge amount to all of us and ensuring his legacy lives on.”

This year the fashion will focus on independent global designers such as Carlo Volpi and AnHa, plus an exclusive collaboration with George Styler’s debut collection show at this season’s London Fashion Week.

In George Styler’s just two-year-long fashion career, he is now firmly on high-end fashion circuits. Having won four awards for Contribution to Fashion, his collections have graced the front covers of prominent international fashion publications and his catwalk created a storm at AW14 shows.

Now based in London, George graduated from the Belgrade college of Textile Design in Serbia.

His clothes speak for themselves. High impact, ethno-knit designs replace words to communicate the designer’s own convictions on freedom: to speak, to move and to dress.

Exclusively donated to this year’s show, keep an eye out for George Styler’s head-turning clothes.

 

There’s a massive team behind it and everyone works really hard and professionally – the detail they go into is amazing. I’m very excited to see it all come together. Model: Eleanor Gomes, studies Philosophy.

The show is such a big event because it gives people a glamorous and exciting way to enrich their own community. What’s better than fashion for a good cause? Model: Emma Katze, studying in Leeds on her year abroad.

 

Laurence Schuman, Leeds Theatre and Performance alumni will also be performing an exclusive piece at the show after working with producers in the music industry. A name you don’t want to forget and a performance you don’t want to miss as fashion collides with music.
‘The fashion show is a fun thing to be involved in with so many different aspects to be involved in…It helps such great charities that are both things that I support. How people react [to my music] will shape what I do next’.

Photography: Lucie England-Duce

LRFS models: Bjorn Tan Wei Ho, Dom Murray, Emma Katze, Eleanor Gomes and Xavier Mama

Stylists: Claire McQue and Tiffany Grous