Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of being part of The Sudbury Women Centre’s (SWC) first annual International Women’s Week Fashion Show;  A Walk Through Wonderland.   And what a night it was!

The fashion show was held at the historic Sudbury Art Gallery.  The venue’s size created a welcome atmosphere and with the amount of guests that attended it felt quite cozy all evening long.  The party planners did an amazing job bringing the SWC’s vision to life and it reflected the Centre’s re-branding efforts perfectly.  The caterers exceeded our guest’s expectations with a decadent charcuterie.  Our sommelier was spot on with the wine selections and our bartenders did a great job serving those choices up along with a signature teal cocktail.

I took a peak into the dressing room before the show, where makeup artists were mastering the teal smoky eye, hair stylists were busy flat ironing, back combing and hair spraying away, and our stylists were making sure our models looked polished.  It was buzzing with excitement and I got a peak at a jewel-toned, color-blocked outfit on one model and a red kimono-style dress on another.   I couldn’t wait to see what the cat-walk had in store for us.

And I wasn’t disappointed.  The fashion showcased at the event filled me with absolute enjoyment and I was excited to see the audience as delighted with the models as I was.  The combination of music and fashion was fun, the lighting and staging was excellent and the sound quality was reverberatingly good.  The MC and DJ were brilliant and everybody enjoyed the energy they brought to the show

The silent auction was smart with a dozen tasteful and valuable baskets to bid on.  The door prizes were also a nice touch and were truly wonderful to win.

You know what I love best about this fashion show?  That everybody involved (the party planners, the caterers, the sommelier, the bartenders, the make-up artists, the stylists, the models,  the DJ and the MC) was an energetic and passionate volunteer.  We had volunteers and board members from the centre, clients from Genevra house, people from the business community, and friends of the entire above join together to create this special little event.  And at the end of the evening I realize it had nothing to do with the clothes or the food or the décor and everything to do with community involvement and creating positive change in our city.  I saw firsthand that when volunteers come together and serve, they not only do great things for people in need, but they also learn the importance of working together, building relationships, and developing a network of community service-oriented friends.

The energy in the room was positive and jovial, we raised some funds and made some new friends for the centre, and all in all the First Annual Fashion show was a dynamic success.  Like I said, what a night it was!