KENTON FASHION SHOW IS BIG HIT WITH HENLEY'S FASHIONISTAS

Thursday, November 12th saw Henley Town Hall echo to the clatter of stilettos on the catwalk and the oohs and aaahs of a crowd cooing over the fabulous array of gorgeous glad rags paraded before them. And all in aid of a good cause - a fashion show to raise funds for our KENTON for KEEPS campaign and support the Henley Standard's Think Local campaign.

Despite appalling weather, Henley's fashionistas turned out in force to support the event and spare seats were hard to come by. It wasn't quite elbows at the ready but there was eager, yet polite, vying for the best seats in the house as five Henley fashion stores - Anna's Wardrobe, Back Room Girls, Frivolity, Phase Eight and Sullivan & Sykes - turned out the hottest - and coolest - numbers from their winter and party collections

Actress Rosalie Raymond, a much experienced fashion show compère, did a fantastic job of hosting the event - her first task of the night to note the sad passing of Terry Buckett, a past Trustee of The Kenton Theatre, and call on the audience to pay tribute to him in the time honoured theatre way with a round of applause.

First model of the night was Mayor Elizabeth Hodgkin, wearing a spangled deep purple and black lace dress from Phase Eight who expressed her gratitude to the audience for coming along to support both The Kenton Theatre and Think Local.

The atmosphere buzzed all evening as model after model sashayed down the runway in outfits that ranged from stylishly casual daywear to exquisite evening gowns on models of all ages, heights and sizes - a very welcome change from the usual stick thin clothes horses that dominate most catwalk shows.

Several of the dresses drew gasps of delight and spontaneous applause from the audience but it was the menswear show from Sullivan & Sykes that created the biggest furore of the night. Henley's genteel ladies forsook their mild manners as the sight of some very handsome, mostly young, male models had them whooping and baying for more. One of the most popular - judging from the sound level - appeared to be 28 year old Ben Montague, son of Sue Montague of Sullivan & Sykes, an upcoming singer songwriter who'd taken a break from the promo tour for his latest single (Rainy Day, released last Monday, November 16^th) to support his Mum's show.

With a packed house, a raffle presented by Radio Berkshire's Debbie McGee which raised over £800 and a very satisfied crowd, the organisers have hailed the event a resounding success. "It was great fun," says Kenton Theatre managing director, Wendy Bowsher. "I'm so grateful to all the retailers for their hard work and time, the raffle prize donors for their generous gifts and of course to our team of volunteers - they've all helped make a difference to the future of The Kenton. Looks like our future fashion shows will have to have a menswear slot though - or we'll be in trouble with the audience."