Proudly Pink fashion has serious focus

Breast Cancer Action Month got under way in the Bay on Saturday with local models taking to the catwalk in three Proudly Pink fashion shows.

More than 300 crowded the Bethlehem Town Centre for the shows which raised $5000 for Tauranga's Breast Cancer Support Services (BCSS).

The models - including four breast cancer survivors - graced the catwalk kitted out in clothes, shoes and accessories from a range of Bay designers and retailers.

Kath Vickers, chairperson of BCSS, said she was delighted with the turnout.

"The show celebrates women who have had or been touched by breast cancer. Our models are women of all ages, shapes and sizes, and four of them are breast cancer survivors. We aim to show that women can still look beautiful and feel confident," she said.

One of the models, breast cancer survivor Katy McCullough, walked the catwalk alongside her 5-year-old daughter Anna.

The crowd was also wowed by two male models, Tauranga brothers James and Craig Hamilton, who strutted the catwalk in various outfits, including a long pink satin dress which drew whistles of approval from the mostly female audience.

A T-shirt designed by Tauranga Girls' College student 18-year-old Courtney Matthews was showcased at the start of the show. Courtney's design won a recent secondary school students' competition.

"The design just came to me and felt right. I only found out three weeks ago that I had won so it is very exciting to see models wearing the T-shirt today," Courtney said

Two hundred of the T-shirts were for sale at the event with many buying them to wear at the ninth annual ASB Breast Cancer walk on November 2.