Look at the high end fashion on show at inaugural Doncaster Fashion Week show

But cutting edge high-end fashion has touched down in Doncaster with the inaugural Doncaster Fashion Week show at the The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure – previously the National College for High Speed Rail – at Lakeside

In all, around 500 attended the show, which is intended to pave the way for a more extensive fashion week next year.

The show, organised by design graduate Leah McMullen, brought together dozens of designers from all over the UK and from overseas, with some radical looks.

On a catwalk which featured around 30 models, masks and life jackets appeared to be among the more avant garde ideas.

The show pulled together a number of talented Doncaster hair and make-up designers. Jamie Pratt, from The Hairstylists salon, organised a team of 13 volunteer stylists for the show. Local make-up artist Charlotte French organised a team of 13 volunteers to do the make up.

Doncaster Council chief executive Damien Allen, among those attending, gave his backing to the show. He said: “This was fashion at the edge, in a space that is learning at the edge, in a borough that is leading at the edge!”

He said the show massively profiled the borough as a place, and destroyed any myths that you would never see Doncaster as a fashion design centre, or a place that hosts such events.

Ms McMullen said: “I’m very excited for the next year’s week of events. I’m proud of Doncaster for pulling together and achieving a high standard in the first edition.”

She set up Doncaster Fashion Week Ltd in March, and now plans to host an annual fashion week in the borough.

She is now due to meet council chief executive Mr Allen, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dan Fell, and Deborah Rees director of Cast theatre, Doncaster, about possible involvement in next year’s event.

The plan is that there will be a sale of high end designer fashion including one-off garments. Also on the cards are hair, make-up and photographry masterclasses over several days.

This year saw two Doncaster designers among those whose work was on show, Briar McQue and Emma Rigby. Briar attended the show, but Emma was working in Sweden, but sent a collection.

Ms McMullen said it was important to have a range of global talent.

“It needs to be global standard to establish Doncaster on the map,” she said.

“This year we had designers who had already been to New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. We had Doncaster designers, but also designers from Rome, USA, Barcelona and Mexico.

“This was done through pure collaboration.”