Charity Fashion Live

Swoon over high fashion but prefer a less faint-worthy production process? Want to look current without adding to the 350,000 tonnes of clothes sent to landfill each year? Fear not! Charity Fashion Live (CFL) is here to help you do haute couture without getting hot under the collar. Using thrifted clothes to recreate outfits the instant they hit the London Fashion Week catwalk, CFL is all about finding a way to embrace trends without abandoning your ethics.

This sped-up, slow fashion dream began when stylist Emma Slade Edmondson set herself the challenge of mirroring catwalk outfits in real-time, using the clothes available in a single op shop. Emma now annually leads a talented team who come together with one purpose – to democratise high fashion and drive home the importance of repurposing our old clobber, rather than sending it to landfill.

Shot by photographer Rachel Manns, CFL 2017 was produced in partnership with Barnardo’s and Love Your Clothes – a campaign that aims to change the way UK consumers buy, maintain and pass on their garments.  This year’s challenge saw the team pay homage to looks from heavyweights including House of Holland, Molly Goddard, Jasper Conran and Julien Macdonald, and the outcome has us struggling to sift the luxury from the pre-loved.  Head to the CFL Facebook page to soak up all the outfits, or watch the video to see the drama unfold.