On the 7th of March, Refugee Women Connect proudly presents our very first charity fashion show – Strike a pose – hosted at the iconic Invisible Wind Factory. This venue, known for its unforgettable events, has welcomed legends like Bicep, Groove Armada, and JUNGLE, and now it’s our turn to make it shine. Expect a night Liverpool has never seen before as our sensational models take to the stage, showcasing the stunning creations of our eleven talented designers. It’s a celebration of fashion, community, diversity and the vital work Refugee Women Connect does. Organised and hosted by Amy Farrell and Mia Brent, who are volunteer fundraising coordinators for Refugee Women Connect and students at the University of Liverpool, Strike a pose will bring in International Women’s day 2025.
Refugee Women Connect is a Merseyside based charity, working to build a safe life in the UK for all women refugees and asylum seekers. Our service users come from all walks of life, those who have fled situations of conflict, persecution and abuse. Many of our service users have survived some form of gender-based violence, including sexual abuse, exploitation, human trafficking and female genital mutilation. We offer expert support to the women and their children in the community, as well working with policy makers and the wider asylum sector to support their access to social justice.
We provide practical support for refugee women and their families. This includes expert casework, accommodation and housing support, school access for children, information sessions and English language classes. We also offer bespoke one-to-one mental health support for women recovering from trauma, as well as group wellbeing sessions. Strike a pose, celebrates empowerment of all, including those that Refugee Women Connect support. This year will celebrate Refugee Women Connects 20 year anniversary, and what a way to celebrate it.
Strike a pose will feature collections from aspiring and professional designers including Charlie Supastar, Holy Beasley, Louise Morgan, Colette Castellon, Jemma Adelle, Samir Edwards-Sutton, Emma Rose, Abi Twigg, Charlie Ann Buxton, Freya May and Giina Ferguson. We are humbled to be able to showcase the work of these eleven talented designers, who we have had the pleasure of meeting through this event. The collections focus on a range of topics from neurodivergence, to female empowerment, to the underfunding of the NHS. This event has shown us the kindness and generosity of Liverpool creatives, with all of our designers, hair stylists, makeup artists and backstage staff donating their time and efforts to the event.
We are featuring other creative talents in Liverpool’s music and dance world. Our opening act will be none other than the jazz, neo-soul and funk band Understudy. After two years of collaboratively writing, reinterpreting, performing, and grooving, they have consolidated their repertoire to hail the Erykah Badu’s and Jamiroquai’s of the world to Liverpool’s vibrant music scene, and let the people dance!
The excitement doesn’t end there, we are collaborating with two female led DJ collectives, Sonder groove and Six in the city, to host our afterparty at Meraki. A one night only collaboration, with a line up that will represent some of Liverpool’s hottest DJ talent including phia, owmad, deejay daisy and more. We cannot wait to dance the night away in celebration of the success of Strike a Pose.