Wearable Christmas trees: A very different fashion show
Christmas trees take to the catwalk in Charlottetown
Some very different holiday fashion that can make a difference will be on the runway Saturday night in Charlottetown at a holiday fundraiser — wearable Christmas trees.
The show is for Santa's Angels, a P.E.I. charity that annually helps out about 400 families or 800 people, mostly in the Charlottetown area, with presents and food on Christmas morning.
I just thought it would be a wonderful, creative way of helping out.— Sarah Jackson, dress designer
"Most of them will be made out of boughs, with a Christmas theme," said Krista Campbell, the event organizer and a longtime Santa's Angels volunteer.
Campbell, herself a talented seamstress who specializes in mascot costumes, created five of the ten dresses that models will showcase Saturday.
Campbell's Victorian ensemble and formal black dress — complete with lights — have skirts she made from artificial Christmas boughs woven together and shaped into a sort of cone the model can step into, fastened at the waist with ribbon.
"I have five other designers and each dress is very different," Campbell said. Other designers include Jill Lantz, Blake Caissie and Sarah Jackson.
'Creative way of helping out'
Jackson is a dedicated crafter with no experience in fashion design — but you'd never know it, looking at her red dress featuring an elaborate skirt of co-ordinating paper cones tipped with tinsel snowflakes.
"I just thought it would be a wonderful, creative way of helping out," Jackson said.
"I didn't want to make anything predictable... it's a whimsical Tinkerbell look," she added.
Campbell hopes to raise several thousand dollars with the fashion show — tickets are $50 each and most of the 200 were sold as of press time. The event will also feature food, a silent auction and dancing to a DJ.
'Lift people up'
"Christmas can be a hard time for people," Campbell said. "It's nice to kind of lift people up a little bit."
Campbell is hoping to hold another Christmas tree dress fashion show next year, with submissions from more designers.
Those who are in need this Christmas can visit santasangels.ca and fill out an application.
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