Considering that fashion, even student fashion, can feel overwhelmingly exclusive, Catwalk curates an artful, creative vibe with a community feel.
Hosted at Dune, St Andrews’ answer to a hip metropolitan cocktail bar, the Catwalk Launch immediately assumed an intimate, relaxed energy. The exposed brick walls provided the perfect backdrop for a curated collection of photographs and art pieces put together by the Catwalk Team and reflecting this year’s theme, which would be unveiled later in the evening.
Credit: Catwalk.
On the whole, the event was stylish and welcoming. It was a perfect opportunity to get to know the team and the models, as well as their vision, over a couple of pretty well-priced cocktails, particularly important considering that inclusivity is one of Catwalk’s key values. The cocktails, of course, gained bonus points in my eyes for their very punny names; my personal favourite was coined the “Meow/Walk”.
Credit: Catwalk.
Amongst societies at St Andrews, Catwalk stands out through its not-for-profit vision, and the statistics are impressive. Every year, 100% of Catwalk’s profits are donated to charity, including the three university charities voted for by students annually. This year, these are The Wave Project, Smart Works Scotland and Emergency UK.
Through this commitment, Catwalk are part of the Union’s annual Charities Campaign to raise £100,000 every year across Union events – a target consistently achieved. The launch was no exception to their charitable commitment; 100% of profit from the event will be donated to Alzheimer's Research Uk, Solidaritee and Richmond's Hope.
However, they aren’t all substance no style. The student-led team seems committed to the exploration of fashion as art and this comes across in this year’s theme: Double-Consciousness, ‘the feeling that you can have more than one social identity that build to your own sense of self’.
Speaking to head of choreography, Vicky Riley, she affirmed that this year is all about self-expression: ‘we want to show off the models’ identities through the choreo and clothes, making it a bit more than just walking down the catwalk in a nice outfit. I’m letting our models choose how they want to express themselves through movement, as well, and it's interesting to see how they all interpret it differently’.
Having attended the launch, and witnessed how cohesive the team is, I feel confident that they will be able to bring this concept to fruition. Their launch video, shown during the event, focused on artistic cinematography, showing that Catwalk most definitely have the creative talent to execute such an ambitious theme and I'm excited to see how the multi-lens concept will play out in a performance context at their main show.
Credit: Catwalk.
Ultimately, the Catwalk Launch was not an extravagant, 300 person event and that is why it was so enjoyable. Catwalk feels like a society that understands their niche – charity-focused, student-led, creative fashion – and leans into it wholeheartedly.
It was an event at an accessible price point that allowed the attendees to meet the models and team and get to understand their vision, with beats in the background providing an enjoyable soundtrack (it’s hard not to love a DJ that plays multiple Charli XCX songs back to back!). Whilst no clothes were debuted at the event, it gave an exciting insight into the creative team behind the show this year, and I look forward to seeing what else Catwalk has in store.
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