Award-winning novelist Zadie Smith and former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman are hosting a charity fashion sale in aid of a food charity.
Bella Freud and Erdem have donated pieces to the clothing sale at Christchurch Brondesbury, with top fashion labels Chanel, Dior Celine, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Roland Mouret, and Manolo Blahnik also up for grabs.
All funds raised will go to Laurence's Larder a food aid organisation, which sends out weekly food parcels, and runs a clothing bank and community kitchen open to anyone who wants to drop in for a meal and a chat.
The 'Bargains Galore' sale takes place at the church in Christchurch Avenue on Friday (January 26) from 5-9pm with a £1 entry fee.
Alexandra Shulman, who is based in Queen's Park, said: “It’s great to be able to organise this sale for Laurence’s Larder which will hopefully raise visibility as well as funds. There are so many lovely things - people have been great with donations.“
Zadie Smith, who grew up in the area and attended Malorees Primary school in Christchurch Avenue and Hampstead School in West Hampstead, is a patron of the charity.
The White Teeth and NW author said: "Laurence's Larder is a great local initiative that I'm proud to have been involved with these past couple of years. And everyone knows the best dressed people live in North West London so it's a win-win."
The charity's co-ordinator Sara-Jade Hussein said donations to the sale had been very generous, noting: "We’ve also had some genuine vintage, such as a beautiful 1930s wedding dress."
She added: “We’re very excited to be working with Alexandra and Zadie to throw our first ever Clothes Sale.
"Part of our work at Laurence’s Larder is reducing food waste and utilising food that would otherwise go to landfill, so it’s nice to work on a project that involves recycling clothes too.
"We’ve recently launched our Warm Spaces Initiative and are now open all day Mondays and Tuesdays for hot drinks and pastries, with newspapers and WiFi available. We’re always trying to do more to support our community and fundraisers like this go a long way in enabling us to do that."
The charity is run almost entirely by volunteers and also offers legal aid advice, energy advice, and help with accessing other support. They serve up more than 5,000 meals a year, deliver 580 food parcels, and give away 500 items of clothing a month.
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