Way back in September, The Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show (ECFS) unveiled its 2024 theme: Metamorphosis. Now it’s March, the winter is begrudgingly giving way to another spring, and Edinburgh’s biggest fashion event of the year is right around the corner.
On Thursday I sat down with Eleanor Beaven, chairwoman of this year’s Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show, to talk all things ECFS. A final year History of Art student, she has spent the better part of this past year living and breathing ECFS. As Chairwoman, she touches every part of the show– from fundraising initiatives to creative direction. As she aims to raise a five-figure donation for the Scottish Refugee council, she gives me and The Student an exclusive talk about all things ECFS.
AC: Thank you so much for sitting down with me today, I know you’re probably swimming in meetings.
EB: Haha, yes of course.
So, how long have you been involved with ECFS?
So, I’ve been involved in ECFS since the beginning of the 2023 show, so I worked as the marketing director of the show back in 2023 when we were at Dynamic Earth, um so that meant my tenure spanned from 2022. So technically, it’s been the last two years of my life, which has given me a really great insight. I think working– I attended the show back in 2022, last time it was at the National Museum, and then having acted as a director it gave me a great foundational understanding of the mechanics but from a very specific lens. So then taking on the role of chair this year, I had a really good basis that I could then elevate by engaging with all the departments
Because the fashion show’s one of only a few events that’s a permanent fixture on the Edinburgh social calendar, what does it mean to be the stewardess–in charge of something that is so beloved?
It’s a huge honour, and a real privilege, and one that I’m very grateful for. That really is something that guides me through the process because naturally with anything of this scale and stature there’s a lot of very difficult times and a lot of challenges to overcome, but through that all, knowing that it’s a privilege to be able to spend that time and energy doing it and being able to create something so beautiful with so many creative talents, that is definitely something that keeps me going throughout the more difficult times.
So, how big’s the operation? How many people does it take to put this thing on?
Yes, so a lot more than you would think. People definitely underestimate the size of it, despite it always occurring at these huge national landmarks. So, the team. We’ve got myself, and then the different teams are led by my four amazing directors, who span across Communications, Logistics, Production, and Creative. So under those four directors, we’ve got a variety of departments all led by team heads, and those are all supported by their teams of executives. The committee spans 40 people including myself, and then on top of that we have our model cast, which is 28. This year we’re working with 15 designers. [For those counting along at home, that’s a hundred and some change]
Is that bigger than previous years?
It tends to fluctuate; the committee size is about the same this year, we’re working with a more concentrated pool of designers because we wanted to prioritise quality over quantity this year. It’s taken a much more creative direction this year I think and we’ve tried to really condense that down so we can give them the focus they deserve.
Ok, that perfectly segues into my next question– what’s going to make this show unique from previous shows; people who have seen a show already, why should they come–what’s going to be different?
So, this year, as I said, we’re taking a highly refined creative approach. In that sense we’re looking outwards to the wider creative world and the wider fashion industry. Recently we’ve seen a lot on the runways in Paris, New York, London, that are really elevating high fashion and bringing it back to that dramatic theatrical arena. I would definitely say that we’re firmly within that realm and we have been since our first discussions back last year.
In that sense, we’re really engaging in an interdisciplinary approach, artistically. We’re working with dancers, as well as our models and our designers. We have a composer who’s created a completely bespoke show score–
Whoa…
–No, I know. So everything, every fine detail is truly elevated and a really distilled essence of our vision. On top of that, we’re really working towards centralising the mission of our charity; at the end of the day that’s at the heart of everything we do, so after the show we’re inviting our guests to the vaults of the museum for an exclusive aftershow reception in which a band called Musicians in Exile, who are a group of refugees and asylum seekers based in Glasgow, will be performing. Hopefully it will be a great journey through our vision.
How much are you hoping to raise this year for the Scottish Refugee Council?
We are definitely planning to be within a five figure realm, which is a huge achievement and was always a central goal for us. I can’t go into too much more specifics, but at this point, that’s what we’re looking to do. We are completely self funded, meaning we have no grants from the universities or the government, it’s just run out of the pure tenacity and philanthropic spirit of our student body which spans not only UoE but also Napier and the other Universities around scotland.
It’s a huge achievement, and it’s important to frame it as such because every single penny we earn comes directly from our peers and our families and friends and the population of Scotland who give to our cause.
Are you partnering with any brands? Is anyone else helping the show come together?
We have been partnering with a variety of local Edinburgh based brands. Weve really tried to hone in on that “local is best” whilst also partnering with great global brands. Jimmy Fairly is a sponsor of ours this year, and they sponsored our goodie bags– they’re also sponsoring our raffle. Another key sponsor is Construct London who is a luxury brand agency focusing on design, so again they’re supporting the next generation of creatives by partnering with us, and they made a very generous financial donation.
On top of that, a variety of local brands. Coco Blooms are doing our table decorations, Bodega Bay are offering complimentary drinks to all attendees, Pickering’s Gin are offering drinks on the VIP tables. So we’ve really infused every element of the show with a local partner and someone who we can work with who has shared values to us.
The show’s theme this year is metamorphosis, which I think is so brilliantly topical given the rapid transformation that the larger fashion industry is going through right now. We’ve been feeling it all over the media landscape as well. What does metamorphosis mean to you, and to ECFS as a whole?
Yeah, so I came up with the concept of metamorphosis because I’ve always been fascinated by our capacity for change. I’ve always felt very frustrated with this argument that’s made so often that “it is what it is” – that things just are the way they are, that in reality we’re so firmly rooted in these constructs that they’ve been naturalised. That’s not true. We have the capacity to change innately within ourselves as humans and that’s why I have used the elements as an entrypoint to the theme. They structure the show.
Starting with air, moving to fire, and then earth and water, it serves to remind us of these essential components that we’re all built on. So by retracing our roots back to those core elements, we can be reminded of this capacity to change that we all have within us.
What are you most excited for people to see at the show this year?
I’m excited for them to see the venue first of all. I mean, it’s such an iconic space and we’re so fortunate that the museum have been so considerate and amazing to work with and to partner with. They really support our dream and I think that is definitely one of the hurdles we come across–that people don’t take us seriously, but we have been fortunate in all of our partners. All of them have been thoughtful and considerate and receptive to all of our ideas no matter how grand. So I’m excited for the audience to have this immediate impact of the awesome-ness of the venue.
I’m excited for them to see the designs and to see – I think they will be surprised by the vision and the way we engage with the themes. […] I’m excited to follow them along the journey that we’ve mapped out for them. I think it’s gonna be really interesting and I’m excited to see the interval– the rumblings– because they’ll be halfway through the experience then and I’m excited to see how that then changes by the end of the show once they’ve transcended to this beautiful realm that we’ve constructed in the latter half. I think that is really exciting.
What are you most proud of– what is your biggest accomplishment as chairwoman?
I think it would be seeing the team come into themselves. I think that was always my goal– was to keep everyone’s eyes on the skies and keep people excited about it. Hopefully that has translated. It has been a real pleasure learning how to lead in that sense. That would be my greatest achievement other than being able to support our charity in such a tangible way; it would be watching our team come into their own skills and be surrounded by such a vibrant, like minded community.
What are you hoping people will be wearing to the show?
I mean, official theme is black tie, so I’m hoping people are dressed to the nines, and I’m hoping that they just have fun with that. We’ve always championed that in our own work, like when we do committee shoots and model shoots and everything. I want to stay away from curating it too strongly, and allow people to let their own sense of personality shine. I hope the guests will also do that and take their own spin on black tie, and incorporate an idea of transformation and metamorphosis.
I’m assuming you have your outfit planned already.
I do! My outfit– I have been very generously constructed my own gown by one of our designers, Ealish Withington. So we’ve worked together for the last few months to construct a gown that is like my epitome of metamorphosis and what that vision means to me. So I’m thrilled to be doing that. She’s one of the designers who’s also displaying work on the catwalk. That will be hugely exciting. Even that, to have that sense of, that true creativity– to me true creativity is spanning every element and thinking through every part of the journey and making it as thoughtful as possible. […]I think having had this conversation, I was like “oh well of course I should have a dress from one of designers, I mean are you kidding?”
Describe the upcoming show in three words.
Oooh. Okay. I would say unexpected, interdisciplinary, and transformative.
Thank you so much again, I’m so excited to see it all come to life!
Yes! Thank you!
If you want to see the show and experience the transformation for yourself, the 2024 Edinburgh Charity Fashion Show will be held on 23 March at the National Museum of Scotland. Tickets start at £20, and 100% of the show’s proceeds go towards the Scottish Refugee Council, who seek to support thousands of men, women, and children as they rebuild their lives in Scotland.
Featured image by Victoria Vereska used with permission from Eleanor Beaven
In article images by Nylah Maerz used with permission from Eleanor Beaven