Northampton graduate committed to driving positive social change in the fashion industry

A recent graduate from the University of Northampton is using fashion as a platform to create positive social change and is hosting an event in London which aims to challenge the detrimental ideals of beauty and gender.

Holly Campbell graduated in 2015 with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Education and Social Care and has used her experience to launch a social enterprise, ProjectFEM, which aims to combat social injustice and feminist issues.

The Feminist Fashion Catwalk and Exhibition is ProjectFEM’s first event and will take place at Cargo in Shoreditch on Friday 9 September. The catwalk show will feature a diverse and representative range of models to challenge the current typecast set by the fashion industry. The designers who will be showcasing their collections all align with ProjectFEM’s ethical and feminist values and are responsible for producing sustainable and socially responsible fashion pieces.

Holly has been working with the Women’s Equality Party as part of their recently launched body image campaign and guests will include plus-size model,; Jada Sezer, Rain Dove; an androgynous model from the US and Cory Wade, who was the first homosexual male contestant on America’s Next Top Model.

Holly said: “Our first event under ProjectFEM will be providing a platform for people who are passionate about evoking change for women and change within the fashion industry to come and connect and collaborate. Furthermore, it will enable attendees to realise the seriously detrimental culture that the fashion industry perpetuates and encourage action for change.

“Feminism and social justice are unquestionable important is today’s society and to make a positive impact towards equality is the most inherently fulfilling and affirming action that I can take as a conscious human being. We want to put ProjectFEM on the map as a collective that will not move until real systematic changes takes place for women involved in fashion and wider society.”

Find out more about the Feminist Fashion Catwalk and Exhibition