With many attendees sporting pinks and florals, the community showed up strong for this year’s Pink Ladies fashion show fundraiser, with tickets sold out a week before the event.
The event also provided an opportunity to remember long-serving member of the Pink Ladies, Joyce Dunbar, who passed away a few weeks after last year’s fashion show.
Selma Silva, Pink Ladies executive committee member, said they were touched by the community’s altruism that will help facilitate the organisation’s charitable efforts throughout the year, supporting school, housing, youth and conservation projects.
“Over the last 44 years, we have donated more than $2 million, and certainly just as much in volunteer hours,” Silva said at the start of the show, which took place on 8 March, International Women’s Day.
Both ticket sales and the proceeds from purchases of donated clothes contributed to the total raised. The Pink Ladies said on Tuesday that the total raised so far was more than $22,000, with more expected from the sales events.
The models all sported donated items available for sale, including floor-length flowing gowns, a pink ombre sari, and bell-shaped cocktail dresses.
Silva took a moment to recognise the efforts of Dunbar, who used to host the fashion show at her home. She recalled how Dunbar would welcome attendees with “her nice smile and great sense of humour”.
“I had the privilege of knowing her for many years, as we arrived in Cayman at about the same time 30 years ago,” Silva said, commending Dunbar for her commitment to the Pink Ladies.
“She opened her house for the fashion show many times before Ivan, and after,” Silva said. “In fact, right after the hurricane had completely destroyed her house, she confided that she was redesigning the pool and surrounding areas to have more seating space for future shows.”
Since Dunbar passed, friends have honoured her memory by going to events wearing either purple, her favourite colour, or pink for the organisation she supported so passionately.
In recent years, the show has been held at the Grand Cayman Marriott.
First-time model Felicia McLean said her experience at the show was “amazing”. She added, “At every table, they were applauding you. It was just beautiful, a lovely group of women.”
She encouraged anyone who was hesitant about participating to give it a go next year.
Pink Ladies Director Faye Lippitt said the fashion show raises money for their activities, but members also wanted to highlight the importance of reducing clothing waste by featuring gently used, high-end donated items for sale at bargain prices.
“It’s beyond our expectations,” Lippitt said of the show, while encouraging those who plan to attend next year to book their tickets early.
Related Videos
