FASHION KICKS
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Shay Given, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper was born into a typical large and loving Irish family. Tragically at 5 years old, Shay lost his beloved Mother Agnes to cancer. His memories are still with him today of the seemingly endless hospital stays and ‘Bad days’ his Mam would have.
Fast forward to the age of 15 when Shay left his home and joined Celtic encouraged by his father, who had in his time been a goalkeeper. When Kenny Dalglish joined Newcastle United as Manager from Celtic the first player he brought with him was Shay.
Shay quickly became the darling of Tyneside, both on and off the pitch. From arriving at 21 as second choice goalkeeper he soon became one of the most respected men in the dressing room and someone you could rely on for every hospital visit or kick around with kids who could never dream of getting that close to their hero.
A chance meeting in a lift with Shay by Janet Richardson, Fundraising Manager on Tyneside for Macmillan Cancer Support resulted in him agreeing to become Patron of the charity. Shay later admitted he hadn’t a clue what he was taking on but knew he wanted to do whatever he could to help Janet deliver the services she had described, to the many cancer patients desperate for help.
Shay went on to meet his wife Jane in Glasgow where she was working as a primary school teacher after having graduated from Glasgow University. They set up home in Tyneside where their two children Shayne and Sienna were born.
It was obvious to Jane how important Shay was to the people of Tyneside both on and off the pitch but what was more apparent was how much his charity work meant to Shay and she wanted to do everything she could to support him. Together they came up with the idea for an event that would fuse Fashion, Football, Food and Fantastic Entertainment.
FASHION KICKS WAS BORN
Over the following years, it grew to become the biggest event in the North East social calendar, attracting celebrities galore and raising over £600,000 for charity. The first Fashion Kicks took place in 2004 to an audience of 300 people, Newcastle United players along with professional models took to the stage and helped raise £56,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2004.
Two years later Fashion Kicks featured a 100ft catwalk at St James Park. Again Newcastle United players including Michael Owen strutted their stuff for worthy causes. In addition an audience of 550 watched as WESTLIFE showed their support for the event by putting on an amazing live show. In 2006 an astounding £256,000 for charity was the result!
In 2008 Fashion Kicks was back by popular demand. A special marquee was erected, the first time this had ever been done at St.James Park, to accommodate the 1000 guests who came to witness a top class fashion show including dancers from The London Stage School and children from The Tyne Theatre perform a scene from Hairspray. Yet again Shay somehow managed to get his great friends WESTLIFE to do their bit, even though they were on stage earlier the same night playing to a packed Arena for two hours. £278,000 was raised in 2008.
These 3 events could not have happened without the huge support of the people of Tyneside, including Newcastle United, their owners and staff, and the many business’s and individuals who gave time and donations to make the events so successful. They were the real stars of the show!!!
FASHION KICKS MOVES TO MANCHESTER FOR 2010.
In 2009 Shay moved to Manchester City F.C, beginning a new chapter for him, his family and Fashion Kicks. For Fashion Kicks 2010 Shay and Jane were given the full support of his new Club. Add this to the people back on Tyneside, the Republic of Ireland and in Scotland, who have supported the event previously and still want to do their bit for the cause and you have the ingredients for the most successful Fashion Kicks event yet.
Selfridges provided a glittering Fashion Show featuring top professional models, and of course the Manchester City players were all up there alongside them. The Academy of Culinary Arts supplied some of the best chefs in the UK and Ireland to design and cook the food. These guys are Champions League in the world of food.
The real stars on the night were not to be the list of very generous individuals who were using their talents and giving their time to make it a spectacular event. The real stars were those who came along to support us. The people who bought the tickets, who took part in the raffle, the people who entered our text competition, the people who donated online and the people who just wished us well.
Fashion Kicks 2010 made over £215,000 from the night itself, attended by approx. 750 guests, and then further donations afterwards. The night saw a spectacular live performance from Westlife, after an extremely funny set from Manchester comedian, Jason Mandford. All compared by Neil Foxx.
Fashion Kicks 2011
On a fantastic night of great food, fun and entertainment, we can proudly say that Fashion Kicks 2011 raised over £145,000 for charity – helping us smashing the £1 million target we had set ourselves to reach this year.
There were a lot of familiar faces in the audience, with stars of Westlife, Coronation Street and the world of football out in force.
The 600-strong sold out crowd enjoyed a night filled with unforgettable moments including an amazing live performance by Alexander Burke.
After a sumptuous champagne reception, with canapés supplied by the Academy of Culinary Arts, the main show kicked off with a spectacular Selfridges’ fashion show. The show was ably assisted by supermodel Lily Cole and the Manchester City squad, who toasted their by FA Cup victory by showing off their fancy footwork on the catwalk. The biggest cheer of the night went up when the players brought out the evening’s surprise special guest – the FA Cup trophy itself.
The Success continues into 2012…
The Fashion Kicks team are well underway, planning Fashion Kicks 2012. More information will follow soon, but rest assured every year the aim is to top the last, so if the 2011 event is anything to go off then Fashion Kicks 2012 will be the hottest ticket in town!