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Dance for Abilities fashion show

The Living Colour show at New Zealand Fashion Week will see 15 models with intellectual disabilities strut on the catwalk representing some of New Zealand’s top designers.

Adrian Hailwood is one of many leading New Zealand designers presenting clothing as part of The Living Colour show at New Zealand Fashion Week on Saturday 31 August.

Pictured here at the fitting for model Rosa Hopkirk, Hailwood couldn’t resist gifting her the dress that she modelling on the night.

The show is being organised by Dance For Abilities (DFA) in partnership with New Zealand Fashion Week. Zambesi was the first to get on board, and other leading labels represented include Hailwood, Stolen Girlfriends Club, Nope Sisters, Tuesday Label,  Lemon Tree Design and Jeanine Clarkin. 

“We are really excited to get the opportunity to open another door for people with intellectual disabilities,” says Daniel Hopkirk, Dance For Abilities Director. “Fashion can sometimes be viewed as unattainable to a lot of people in society, but with forward thinking people like Dame Pieter Stewart we have been given the opportunity to showcase to people that fashion can be fun and for everyone. New Zealand’s premier fashion event is a great place to give people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to get up on the catwalk and mix with some of our most well renowned New Zealand designers.”

Hopkirk says the team’s goal is to continually evolve the event and create equal opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities to have a night out in these fantastic locations and events around Auckland.

Dance For Abilities (DFA) New Zealand is a not-for-profit organisation that was set up to give people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to have a night out in the hotspots of Auckland and Sydney.

“The idea was born from the fact that the our little sister Rosa, who has down syndrome, didn’t get the opportunity to go out partying with us as we grew up. Because of this, Jono – our youngest brother – had the idea of creating nights for people like Rosa and launched it in Sydney in late 2017 and I followed suit in Auckland last year,” says Hopkirk.

Tickets for the show, which is being held in the Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall over New Zealand Fashion Weekend, sold out in three hours after going on sale. Putting on the show is, however, an expensive exercise and with Dance For Abilities being a not for profit, any donations to the show’s Givealittle page are much appreciated.

You can donate to the project here: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/dance-for-abilities-nz-fashion-week-show-living

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