In an interview with Brenda Sharman, Pure Fashion model Mikela Gordon encouraged young women to see themselves as a gift.

Watch a video of the fashion show here. Watch interviews with the models here.

January 12, 2009. Atlanta, GA.  “Modesty is really an outward reflection of an interior attitude,” says Brenda Sharman, the national director of the Pure Fashion apostolate.  It’s not just about what you wear; it’s about how you see yourself and the dignity that you present to other people.”

For the Pure Fashion models who presented holiday outfits from Belk at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta this past December 12, dignity and beauty were both the medium and the message.  A total of seven young women put on a short fashion show, which was aired by a local Christian television station called Atlanta’s 57. The fashion show was featured on “Atlanta Live,” a television show hosted by John Griffin, the owner of Christian Living Magazine. A video clip of the fashion show can be viewed here.

In an interview just prior to the fashion show, Brenda Sharman told John Griffin that Pure Fashion is not just about clothes; it’s also about teaching young women how to discover and respect their own personal dignity in a world that tends to objectify beautiful women.

Changing the

	Catherine Sharp models a holiday outfit from Belk.

Culture

“We’re hoping to cultivate a whole new group of young women who respect their dignity and respect others, and who really want to uplift people’s hearts and minds and not drag them into the gutter,” she said.

As living proof of that goal, the show moved to the runway at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta, where teen models Catherine Sharp, Yasmeen Amirhoessini, Lauren Scales, Allison Boyle, Meghan Flanigan, Laura Boyle, and Mikela Gordon presented a series of holiday “going out on the town” ensembles from Belk department store.

After the fashion show, the girls were interviewed on stage by Brenda Sharman. To watch the interviews, click here.

When asked what aspect of the Pure Fashion program she found most interesting, Yasmeen, a student at Holy Spirit Preparatory School, said that she liked the mall mission. In a mall mission, the girls go out and visit different stores, evaluating the underlying message of the clothes, the way the mannequins are dressed (or not dressed), the type and volume of music played in the store, the variety (or lack) of options, the images on display, and even the fragrances used to create ambiance in the store.

“If we didn’t think [a store

	Yasmeen Amirhoessini: part of the fashion solution.

met] Pure Fashion guidelines we would talk to the manager and tell him what we thought they should change,” explained Yasmeen. She said that after one conversation with a store manager, he immediately changed the clothes on a store mannequin so that it would be dressed more modestly.

A small change?  Maybe.  But a change nonetheless. These girls were making a difference in the culture right in their own mall.

“Think of Yourself as a Gift”

In her interview, another young model, Mikela, said that Pure Fashion has given her a totally different outlook on clothes because it has helped her to see that she can be an example to her peers with the way she dresses.

“I realized I can be an example,” she said, “because we have to change our culture, one outfit at a time!”

When asked what message she would like to share with other young women who might be watching the program, Mikela said, “I like to say, think of yourself as a gift – in light of the Christmas season. Who would like their gift unwrapped?  I think of myself as a gift being wrapped and saved for my husband.”

Megan, a 16-year-old student

	After the show… the models strike a pose.

at Pinecrest Academy, also saw how important it is to set a good example at home for her siblings.

“I’ve always dressed modestly because I have a lot of brothers,” she said. “I want to help them know that they have to look for a modest girlfriend as well.”
 
Pure Fashion’s goal is not to impose a dictatorship of style, but to help each girl discover and bring out her total beauty—including the beauty of a virtuous and giving spirit.

This fashion show is only one of the many smaller “satellite” shows that will be taking place on a local level this season in Atlanta as a way of reaching out to more people with a message that can rebuild a culture of personal dignity.

For more information about Pure Fashion and its shows in the United States, Canada, and around the world, visit the Pure Fashion web site at www.PureFashion.com.

(Note: Video clips of Atlanta Live footage are posted with permission from Atlanta´s 57.)