Charitable fashion from Vintage with Love

Vintage with Love, in association with The Forum Company, was organised entirely by volunteers with massive donations of clothes, services, and facilities, enabling the organisers to donate every cent of their takings to two literacy charities: The Link and The Click Foundation.

Generous contributions

More than 1000 women visited the pop-up sale that took place in the dramatic triple-volume foyer at The Forum, The Campus. Approximately 5000 pieces of vintage clothing from Gucci to Country Road were on sale and unprecedented support by the stylish ladies of Johannesburg means the sale is likely to become a regular feature on the city's shopping calendar.

A vintage fashion auction hosted by Strauss & Co a few nights later, at which the auctioneer volunteered to donate all its commission to Vintage with Love, netted R31,000.

Leigh Ord, co-founder of Vintage with Love with friend and journalist Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly, said she and her team had been astounded by the support for the sale and the amount of money raised: "The most amazing part of the sale for me is that whether you donated clothes to the venture, or whether you came and bought a bag of beautiful gently worn clothing at the sale, every person's contribution has gone towards supporting the education of our country's children," she said.

Donations for literacy development

Martine Schaffer, of The Click Foundation, said the substantial donation from Vintage with Love would provide much-needed resources to the foundation's drive to set up computer-based literacy programmes in under-privileged schools.

Nicky Franklin of The Link said the cash injection would assist this organisation in its work of teaching important foundation literacy at government schools around Johannesburg, a volunteer programme that is already seeing profound results in its existing projects.

Sponsors who contributed generously to the staging of Vintage with Love included The Forum Company, Porsche Design, Tik Lee, Elegance Jewellers, Pandora jewellery, Forever New, Villiera wines and Strauss & Co auctioneers.

Glynis Hyslop, managing director of The Forum Company, said she had been so inspired by the Vintage with Love concept that she had decided to sponsor the event space: "This fits perfectly with our brand ethos of art, style and fine food and what a great opportunity to support a worthy cause."

For more information, go to www.facebook.co.za/vintagewithlove.