Annie Lennox helped launch the Oxfam Celebrity Charity Curiosity Shop at Selfridges in London on Thursday, performing 4 songs and raising over £31,000 by allowing the audience to bid for each performance.
The launch event raised a grand total of £208,985 for Oxfam circle projects around the world that empower women and really make a difference.
For ten days only, The Oxfam Curiosity Shop will sell celebrity fashion donations, sought-after samples and vintage clothing hand-picked from Oxfam’s 700 shops. There will also be celebrity styling sessions, plus special VIP appearances.
Clothes from Scarlett Johansson, Helen Mirren, Pixie Lott, Natalie Imbruglia, Dannii Minogue, Beverley Knight, Kate Moss and many more will be available.
The stylish creative director of Eco-Age Livia Firth – wife of Colin Firth – is donating a series of her show stopping red carpet outfits by leading ecological and ethical fashion designers to Oxfam, to raise money for the charity’s women’s projects.
The items will be on sale as part of The Oxfam Curiosity Shop at Selfridges. From Friday 1 to Sunday 10 April Selfridges’ Ultralounge will be transformed into Britain’s biggest charity pop-up shop, selling thousands of celebrity, vintage and designer pieces with all proceeds going to Oxfam women’s projects. A fashion industry A-list have come together to help create – and most importantly stock – this sartorial treasure trove, headed up by icon Annie Lennox and Whistles CEO Jane Shepherdson.
Shoppers will be able to browse a number of stunning pieces donated by Livia Firth, from the exquisite Nina Skarra deep blue dress she wore to the 2011 BAFTAs or the sculptural white Henrietta Ludgate dress created as a one-off for the London Film Critics’ Choice Awards, to the collection of jewellery and shoes worn by Livia to complete her looks. All are made by designers who prioritise environmental impact and social justice in their work.
Livia is fast becoming a veteran of awards seasons and is a committed fan of eco fashion – she has been showcasing the work of designers that match aesthetics with ethics since 2009 as part of her own Green Carpet Challenge.
Livia says: “I’m lucky to be able to use these opportunities to promote sustainable style and ethical fashion, because these are the things I care about. Donating the outfits to The Oxfam Curiosity Shop, where they can be used to raise money for women struggling to live in poverty, completes the circle for me. I really hope that we can start to convince some big names to start wearing ethical designers on the red carpet. It can be a little lonely out there. For the moment they’ll have to put up with me.”
Last year, more than 30,000 customers visited the shop in just one week, raising an amazing £250,00 for Oxfam’s work.
This year’s shop will be located at Selfridges on Oxford Street in London, April 1-10.
