Teen models hit runway to change fashion culture one outfit at a time

On Sunday, April 20, the Pure Fashion Show, an annual faith-based event, will hit the runways again in style, as it has in Atlanta for the past nine years. This year’s event will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center. With an emphasis on modesty – mirroring the ‘Modesty Movement’ that says girls can wear cute clothes and still maintain their dignity – Pure Fashion includes more than 60 teen models and stresses that real models are role models who know who they are and know that they can ‘change the culture one outfit at a time!’

Pure Fashion evolved from an idea conceived in a basement in 1999 into a worldwide fashion statement that’s on a mission to change fashion as we know it today. The concept was born when a dedicated group of mothers with teenage daughters decided it was time to start turning the tide of fashion trends – all of which seemed to be ever more skimpy, revealing and degrading to the inherent dignity of young women. A new kind of fashion show seemed to be the answer. What these dedicated women began in the basement of their suburban Atlanta Church hall has blossomed into an international organization that coordinates annual fashion shows in major cities, not only in the United States, but also in Canada, Australia and Mexico, to name a few.

The April 20 show begins at 2 p.m. in the Georgia Ballroom, and doors open for pre-function activities at 12:30 p.m. This year’s Pure Fashion Show is expected to draw 2,500 attendees who will be treated to an impressive line-up of entertainment, including performances by Carried Away, a Dove Award-winning Christian group from Tennessee, and Lindee Link, a 13-year-old up and coming musician from Peachtree City, Ga. Heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. A parade of hip, trendy and modest spring fashions modeled by more than 60 teenage girls will round out the event.

As with every year, models began their preparation for the show in September with an entire development program which includes training in etiquette, public speaking, make-up application and of course, modeling. Most importantly, these young women have been given a new appreciation for human virtues and values that seem forgotten in recent fashion design and trends.

One such virtue is modesty. “Modesty is more than the way we dress; it is an outward reflection of an interior attitude,” said Brenda Sharman, former Miss Georgia USA and National Director of Pure Fashion. Sharman was able to elaborate on this view when she appeared on the Dr. Phil Show in late November 2007 in a segment called “Mild vs. Wild,” a debate on how young women should dress. Sharman shared her convictions about modesty, saying that young ladies should dress so that they are appreciated for who they are and not treated inappropriately due to the way they may have dressed on a particular day.

Tickets are $50 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, go to www.purefashion.com.

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