On Wednesday night the basement of the Kingston office block that houses Zoo Advertising was transformed into a funky spot. This was for a one-of-a-kind vintage op-shop fashion show to support and raise funds for St Vincent de Paul or better known as “Vinnies” and for their annual CEO Sleepout which event organiser and Zoo Advertising’s Clinton Hutchinson will be participating in again next week.

The aim of this fabulous event which attracted almost 700 people was not only to raise funds for the amazing charity that is Vinnies but to also make people aware and educate them on how much a very small contribution can really help those less fortunate in Canberra.

The night started off with a bang when the first model came down the runway, the music was blaring and the beat was in time with her stride, the media cameras were flashing and everyone’s faces lit up with excitement. A group of designers who also participated in FASHFEST were behind the show and each picked out outfits from vinnies stores around Canberra to dress the models. I guess you could say they designed mini collections using their own creativity and individual style. It is safe to say they all did an absolutely brilliant job at putting together the themed collections because all our eyes were glued.

Throughout the night and during the short break between shows Public Manuka’s Bar served their beautiful version of mulled wine and had cups of soup available in a few different flavours. Public also ran a raffle for a $2,000 travel voucher.

A group of Canberra bloggers came together before the event and raided their wardrobes to hold a designer pop-up op-shop inside the event which really threw in a fun and exciting touch to the event. Especially while we were waiting for the models to hit the runway we had fun trawling through the vintage pieces.

A dance group by the name of Project Beats also wowed us on the runway with an upbeat dance piece featuring the song “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore which I thought was a brilliant!

Vinnies Director of Special Work Shannon Pickles took some time to interact with the crowd and let us know all that they do for those in need. He also told a few stories which you could tell by the silence made people think and appreciate that they were able to leave this event and have a home and warm bed to go to.

Blue was the colour of the evening with many of the staff and organisers wearing blue, lights lining the basement and a ‘Blue’ segment that closed the second annual charity show. The Blue theme was inspired by the Blue Door service which is the St Vincent de Paul Blue Door drop-in centre at Ainslie Village which provides accommodation, meals and support to more than 2000 Canberrans living on low incomes. The centre was at risk of losing its funding when organisers Clinton and his wife Andrea Hutchinson were planning Help From The Underground 2013. This event had raised over $10,000 within the first hour with a goal to raise $36,000.00 I think they would have come pretty close and that is going help the Blue Door drop-in centre immensely.

Events like these help the community come together to have some fun and all you have to do is attend, sip on some yummy mulled wine and give a little. How easy is that! I was so impressed by how well the night was organised and I can’t wait for next year!!

Photography by Anthony Caffery

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