An enterprising group of young women from Durham joined forces to put their entrepreneurial spirit to the test by running their own fashion show.

Isabelle, Layla, Molly, Ruby, and Katie shared a passion for fashion and wanted to turn that into a money-making enterprise with the KEY+ Challenge. The group decided that running a fashion show would give them valued life skills and experience and so hit the ground running with their planning and pitch preparations.

The young women worked hard to think about everything they’d need. They sourced prices for food, considered event promotion and marketing, and searched online for affordable clothes rails, mannequins, and decorations. The group put a lot of effort in to ensuring they were ready to pitch their idea to panel so it was no surprise that the group smashed it out of the park and got the yes, they were hoping for.

It was here where the hard work really started. To keep costs as low as possible, the group got permission to hold their fashion show in a local school hall for free. They had to expand their skills to think about event risk assessments and permissions but soon became a dab hand at asking for help when needed and working hard to complete their tasks.

The young women promoted their event using posters and social media. They even decided to tie in a social cause and give back to the community with all profits raised being donated to a local cancer charity. It wasn’t long before all tickets were sold, and the group were ready to welcome attendees.

All in all, the fashion show was a big success. The young women had showed commitment and dedication to making it happen. When faced with obstacles they persevered and used their new found problem skills to overcome challenge including a shortage of helping hands on the night to run food stalls and entrance. In total, the young women made a humongous £2,000 profit on the night. They also encouraged clothes donations which saw them donate a van full of second-hand clothes to a charity shop close by.

Isabelle, Layla, Molly, Ruby, and Katie thoroughly enjoyed their KEY+ Challenge experience.