Sold out fashion show for a great cause

Last week I made a trip to Midleton where I was judging the best dressed at a wonderful fashion show at Midleton CBS.

The school is usually well known for its hurling and sporting prowess but last Thursday night, teachers and staff donned a different type of kit and took to the catwalk to raise funds for the ASD classes and the pastoral care needs of the school.

The sold out show with more than 300 in attendance took place in the school’s PE hall with designer and TV presenter Brendan Courtney at the helm. The hall which had been transformed by Joan and her team from Enchanting Event Specialist was quite simply unrecognizable.

Gone were the basketball hoops and ball marked walls. Instead more than 80 metres of block wall was draped in ivory silks and the high raftered ceiling lowered with swathes of tulle and twinkling fairy lights.

The scene was set and there were fifty bottles of non-alcoholic prosecco sponsored by Coppingers on ice and the white carpeted catwalk awaited.

The show was opened by Cobh-based dance group Glitz Dance and they set the bar high with a number from ‘The Greatest Showman’.

Brendan Courtney then gave PT Barnum a run for his money as masters of ceremonies and he had us clutching our sides with laughter as he entertained us and roasted some of the teachers too much to the delight of the assembled crowd.

School staff donned the looks from the best of East Cork’s boutiques and a fantastic night of fashion, fun, and competitions ensued. I was on hand to judge Best Dressed and I faced a super tough decision as there were so many fabulous outfits on the night.

The beautiful Lillian wearing a green velvet suit and leopard print heels walked away with the fantastic prize courtesy of The Galway Bay Hotel, Flamingo Boutique, Anume Medical, a Chanel pendant from Designer and Seachurch in Ballycotton also sponsored a star prize for the night and a whole host of East Cork business generously gave prizes and vouchers to support the school.

What does one wear when judging a best-dressed competition I hear you ask? Well obviously I had to bring my sartorial A-game and I had been looking for any opportunity to give my Iris Apfel x H&M collab suit another outing.

Yellow with purple fringing, the relaxed silhouette gives it a laid-back feel while also being somewhat dramatic and I accessorised with a simple heel and some cocktail rings. I’m definitely going to start wearing the pieces as separates though to get a bit more wear out of it.

From members of the parents committee to office staff, cleaners, caretakers, teachers and management, we had a committed bunch working hard both on and off the catwalk.

The night would not have been as successful as it was without the incredible effort every single person put in and special mention to the stylish and wonderful Helen from Daily Diva Diary who put so much hard work and effort into the show.

Special mention has to go to the shops from Midleton and beyond who were so generous with their time and stock and who unhesitatingly supported us.

A significant sum of money was raised and the staff of Midleton CBS would like to thank everyone who helped in any way for making it the success that it was.

There were also some fabulous independent retailers with stalls there on the night and it was so lovely to meet people that I had only previously met on Instagram.

You can’t beat a good event for the IRL chats!