Valentines Day YWCA Charity Fashion Show
Models strut down the catwalk during the 1st Annual Valentines Day YWCA Santa Monica / Westside Charity Fashion Show at Santa Monica Place on Saturday, February 9, 2013.
A full production, the event featured not only professional models in the freshest Springlooks, but also musical performances by A Poet Nomad Ali and TV’s Kristolyn Lloyd (THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL), as well as a dance performance by progressive dance company Beats and Feat, who choreographed a piece with participants from the YWCA’s own Girl Central—an after school program for at-risk middle and high school girls.
The YWCA Santa Monica/Westside is a nonprofit organization that empowers women, girls and families. The Valentine’s Day YWCA Charity Fashion Show is unique, because in addition to featuring professional models and performers, the event celebrates individual beauty by showcasing real YWCA program participants on the runway. The audience cheered as toddlers wearing 7 For All Mankind and holding red heart balloons shuffled onto the stage, followed by middle and high school girls, professional women, and cancer survivors. These women and girls represented the beneficiaries of the charity event.
Host Amanda Jane Cooper (WICKED, GLEE) said, “What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, than by showing your love for those who need it most! We are changing lives here!”
“It was such a wonderful show, and it was all for a good cause. I had no idea that the YWCA had such incredible programs. I want to get involved!” commented event attendee Helen Armand.
Brands featured on the runway included 7 For All Mankind, Michael Kors, Allen Schwartz, and True Religion. One of the lines was a series of custom-designed red dresses to celebrate Valentine’s Day, the result of a one-month challenge set forth for local up and coming designers. For the finale of the show, former Miss USA Kristen Dalton modeled a dress made entirely out of fresh flowers, wearing Mikimoto pearl earrings from Ben Bridge.
Kristen Dalton stated, “This fashion show is about embracing individual beauty and building self-confidence. In my journey as Miss USA, I have met so many girls with low self-esteem, and I have seen how that can lead to dangerous relationship and life choices. We need places like the YWCA to teach girls that they are beautiful just as they are.”
In addition to the fashion show, the event included a vendor marketplace with booths from Union Bank, SMC Associates, Marrin Costello Designs, Jamba Juice, and others, giving local businesses and organizations an opportunity to connect with the community.
A silent auction attracted attention with packages from YWCA supporters, including Gladstone’s Restaurant, Ben Bridge Jewelers, several Santa Monica Place businesses, and many others. Barefoot Wine and Bubbly supplied the drinks and M.A.K.E. Raw Restaurant served hors d’oeuvres.
“We are so blessed to have the support that we do from the community,” comments Margarita Rozenbaoum, Development Director of the YWCA Santa Monica/Westside, “and we are grateful to have this Charity Fashion Show event: One night can make a lifetime of difference for these women and girls.”
Fabian Lewkowicz
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