Lee holds catwalk night for Beatson
APASSION for fashion has driven Lee Simpson throughout most of her life and career.
At 21, she was the youngest buyer ever for House of Fraser and until recently she helped Hyndland fashionistas step out in style at her designer boutique, Solo.
So when she decided to hold a fundraising event in aid of the centre which helped her beat breast cancer, it had to be a fashion show.
“But this isn’t just any fashion show,” explains Lee, over coffee during a brief break i n her top-speed preparations.
“This is something really special, at an unusual venue, in aid of a fantastic cause and glasgow has seen nothing like it before.”
Lee, who is now retired, was diagnosed “out of the blue” with breast cancer last February.
“I thought I had an insect bite,” she says. “But when it didn’t go away, I got it checked out and it was cancer.
“I had a lumpectomy followed by radiotherapy, and luckily it’s all fine now.
“But it made me see what happens at the Beatson first hand, and it’s a wonderful place. The staff are superb, and the care is second to none.”
The Beatson Fashion Event takes place on Sunday at SWg3, the multi-arts warehouse venue in the West End.
It will be co-ordinated by Fiona Best, respected fashion show producer, of Catwalk Productions.
To turn her dream of a
I thought I had an insect bite. But when it didn’t go away, I got it checked
fashion fundraiser into reality, Lee formed a committee of like-minded friends and confidantes, including Julie Sprought, Irene Paisley and Jeanette Falconer – whose TV presenter daughter Jenni will host the show – and enlisted the support of her own daughter Vicki, a graphic designer, and Helen Forrest, who owns respected fashion boutique Pampas in Hyndland.
The models – who will showcase top brands including Boss, William Chambers, ByStorm, Jaeger, Daniel and Slanj, are a mixture of Helen’s customers and local rugby players, while Ox & Finch is providing the food.
The fundraising target on the night is £25,000 and with almost all of the 400 tickets available sold out, Lee is delighted to be well on the way to reaching her goal.
“We have some fantastic raffle and auction prizes, including a superb ‘Beyond Ab Fab’ weekend in London which will appeal to real fashion fans,” she explains.
“It’s two nights at a beautiful hotel, plus exclusive tickets to Scoop, an industry-only fashion show – something money cannot buy.”
Lee laughs: “And of course, a bottle of Bolly thrown in for good measure – no Ab Fab weekend would be complete without the trademark champagne….”
Tickets for the Beatson Fashion Event, which cost £30, are selling fast – e-mail hello@beatsonfashionevent. co.uk or call 07825 625 824 to book your place, or visit www.beatsonfashionevent. co.uk for more information.