President's Letter
Durham University Charity Fashion Show (DUCFS) is proud to be Europe’s largest student-led charitable event, and in 2027 we enter our 44th year. Throughout the year, our charitable campaign consists of a diverse programme of exciting fundraising events, culminating in four show nights in February, with an audience of more than 4,000 people. These events bring the Durham community and beyond together in support of a meaningful charitable cause.
DUCFS has two sister platforms that broaden the reach of our campaign. DUCFS Launchpad serves as a creative outreach platform, and DUCFS THREAD provides a platform for creative journalism. Together, these initiatives reflect the breadth of DUCFS’ campaign and our commitment to fostering creativity and innovation with meaningful impact.
Charity has always been at the heart of DUCFS. Since 2021, we have raised over £1 million, enabling us to have a tangible impact across the North East through supporting our Charity Partner and the work of DUCFS Launchpad, while raising awareness of causes we champion. DUCFS 2026 raised more than £232,000 for Marie Curie and DUCFS Launchpad, with the money donated to Marie Curie funding both the Durham Companions Service and a North East Clinical Educator. Building on this legacy, DUCFS 2027 is excited to continue to place charity at the forefront of everything we do, ensuring our campaign continues to create a meaningful and lasting impact.
The strength of DUCFS lies in its people. Our Executive Team, models and ambassadors, and wider community dedicate time, energy and passion alongside their studies.
It is a genuine privilege to lead an exceptionally talented and dedicated team that values inclusivity, creativity, and ambition as highly as it does excellence.
I am incredibly fortunate to be serving on the Executive Committee for a second time, having previously held the role of Charity and Fundraising Director for DUCFS 2025. That experience was one I will always cherish – from engaging in inspiring work with our Charity Partner to being a part of such a welcoming community.
Returning as President has been a truly special experience. I have loved being involved in every part of DUCFS, from the careful organisation behind the scenes to the creativity that makes the campaign so unique. Most importantly, I have been continually inspired by the passion, commitment, and enthusiasm that every member of our team brings to DUCFS.
As President of DUCFS 2027, I am excited to continue building on the incredible legacy of this campaign. I hope to embrace and celebrate everything that makes DUCFS so special: its fundraising, its creativity, its ambition, and its people. I cannot wait to see what we achieve together this year and feel so lucky to be part of such a wonderful community.
- Harriat Bishop, DUCFS 2027 President
Photography by Sara Bray, DUCFS 2026
DUCFS 2027 EXECUTIVE TEAM
Harriat Bishop
PRESIDENT
Alexandra Millar
CO-HEAD OF FASHION
Anna Hind
FASHION DIRECTOR
Alexandra Pryor
HEAD OF CHARITY
Abigail Daly
VP (Creative)/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Fashion TEAM
Lily Harding
CO-HEAD OF FASHION
Hugh Mullarkey
FASHION DIRECTOR
CHARITY & FINANCE TEAM
MARKETING TEAM
PARTNERSHIPS TEAM
Max Cater
PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
LOGISTICS TEAM
Bridget Kent
VP (Commercial)
Sofia Cobham
FASHION DIRECTOR
Rosie Bamling
OPERATIONS & LOGISTICS DIRECTOR
Charlotte Southgate
HEAD OF LOGISTICS
Constantin Ahrens
CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHER/ VIDEOGRAPHER
shoots TEAM
Isabella Bradley
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Annachiara Senatore
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Rosabella Sung
HEAD OF SHOOTS
Freya Elliot
ARTS EVENTS DIRECTOR
Charlotte Bishop
FASHION DIRECTOR
Marisa Scanlon
CHARITY & FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR
Laura Charles
PR DIRECTOR
Katie Nelson
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATOR
Iain Kennedy
PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
events TEAM
Sophie Habershon
SOCIAL EVENTS DIRECTOR
Emma Ainsby
HEAD OF EVENTS
Seni Abebe
SHOW GRAPHICS DIRECTOR
Lacey Le Boutillier
HEAD OF STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Victoria Franco
HEAD OF HAIR & MAKEUP
Dante McNichol
MUSIC DIRECTOR
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT TEAM
Andrea Palladino
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR
Hair & makeup TEAM
Alexandra Rylands
HEAD OF LAUNCHPAD
Tania Petras
LAUNCHPAD EVENTS & FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR
Sophie Dawson
HAIR & MAKEUP DIRECTOR
experience TEAM
Imogen Briers
CHOREOGRAPHER
Helena Bullen
CHOREOGRAPHER
THREAD TEAM
Madeleine Hawtin
HEAD OF THREAD
Camilla Locsin
THREAD MARKETING & DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR
PRESIDENTIAL TEAM
Zachary Cooke
VP (Operations)
Poppy de Lazslo
CHARITY & FUNDRAISING DIRECTOR
Maisy Carter
MARKETING PHOTOGRAPHER
Kiri Marshall
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATOR
Beatrice Rich
THREAD SECTION EDITOR (FASHION)
Tabitha Sarch
THREAD SECTION EDITOR (ARTS & CULTURE)
LAUNCHPAD TEAM
Poppy Frost
LAUNCHPAD FINANCE DIRECTOR
Dominic Knightley
THREAD GRAPHICS & DESIGN DIRECTOR
Evie Clarke
LAUNCHPAD LOGISTICS & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Mary MacGreevy
LAUNCHPAD MARKETING DIRECTOR
Georgina Marwood
MARKETING GRAPHICS DIRECTOR
Ella Pugh
PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
Lucie Chaplin
HEAD OF FINANCE
Clara Brack
ALUMNI & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Tiana Grindlay
HEAD OF MARKETING & PR
Francesca Longfellow
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT CREATOR
Halle Lawson
HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS
Annabel Tanner
PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
DUCFS 2027: THE REVERIE
DUCFS 2027: THE REVERIE
DUCFS 2027: THE REVERIE
#escape
Photography by Horatio Wong, DUCFS 2026
In an era defined by overstimulation, uncertainty, and emotional fatigue, the instinct to retreat inward has never been stronger. When reality feels insufficient, the mind does what it has always done best - it imagines elsewhere. We construct interior worlds of romance, fantasy, glamour, and catharsis: spaces where desire is fulfilled, emotions are heightened, and the limitations of the real world momentarily dissolve.
DUCFS: THE REVERIE explores this psychological act of retreat. Rather than presenting escapism as passive avoidance, the show frames it as an active, deeply human process of world-building - a deliberate drifting between what is and what is longed for. Within THE REVERIE, hyper-femininity can be indulged, cinematic romance can unfold exactly as imagined, and even heartbreak can be experienced with a heightened, almost theatrical clarity.
The runway becomes the interior of the mind: a liminal space where fantasy and emotion are not bound by realism, but by intensity. As the show progresses, this constructed dreamscape begins to destabilise. What begins as soft fantasy gradually sharpens, fragments, and ultimately descends, exposing the fragile architecture of the worlds we build to comfort ourselves.
THE REVERIE traces the seductive pull of imagined realities and the quiet tension that emerges when those fantasies fracture. It is both an indulgence in the beauty of unreality and a subtle confrontation with its limits.
Ultimately, DUCFS: THE REVERIE asks not whether we escape reality, but why we feel compelled to - and what it reveals about the world we are trying to leave behind.
- Abigail Daly, Creative Director/VP (Creative), DUCFS 2027