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Lily's dress sold at catwalk fundraiser

Rae-Emily Smith and Kelly May with a dress donated by the pop singer Lily Allen and a pair of shoes donated by Marina and the Diamonds
Rae-Emily Smith and Kelly May with a dress donated by the pop singer Lily Allen and a pair of shoes donated by Marina and the Diamonds

A dress donated by pop star Lily Allen and shoes by Welsh singer Marina and the Diamonds were among the items up for auction during a charity fashion show which raised £1,300.

The event was organised by Minster friends Rae-Emily Smith and Kelly May in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Model Faye Love, 21, gets airbrushing with spray on foundation
Model Faye Love, 21, gets airbrushing with spray on foundation

Rae-Emily, 21, and Kelly, 22 – friends since their days at Highsted School, Sittingbourne – staged the show on Sunday night at the town’s UK Paper Leisure Club.

Talent scouts were in the 120-plus strong audience as models stalked the catwalk in clothes created by Rae-Emily and fellow Kent designers Stuart McMillan, Leeannne Ripley Garratt, Susannah Henley and Meganne Murrin.

Music was provided by Sittingbourne-based DJs P & M Roadshow.

And adding to the glitz was the appearance of Lisa Maffia from So Solid Crew who joined Rosie Harris to conduct the silent auction and draw the raffle.

But for the two organisers it hadn’t been all plain-sailing: An accident on the M2 prevented six of the dozen models from turning up on the day, forcing Rae-Emily and Kelly to find some last-minute volunteers from the Island.

Stuart McMilllian, fashion designer, with model Aaliyah Johnson
Stuart McMilllian, fashion designer, with model Aaliyah Johnson

“We were really panicking at first, but it turned out to be amazing in the end,” said Kelly. “It was all very professional and even though we had all the hoo-ha about the models it went extremely well.”

Kelly, who has just graduated in law from Kent University, and Rae-Emily, a fourth-year underwear design student at De Montford University, chose Macmillan Cancer Support after their families’ lives were touched by the disease.

The pair thanked everyone who supported the event, including Tina Cozens and her team from Blond-E's hair and beauty salon at The Meads, Sittingbourne, who did the models' hair and Lily-Mae Smith, Amelia Hudson and Hannah Tipping who did the make-up.

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