18/09/2016 Songs of Praise

It's London Fashion Week, and for Songs Of Praise,

I'm at a catwalk show with a difference -

one that's celebrating models of all shapes and sizes.

I'm being seen and heard as a real model,

not Nicki, the disabled person.

And I talk to a Christian who for 30 years

has had the best seat in the house at some of the top catwalk shows.

God was the first fashion designer.

I think he'd want clothes which were well made.

I think he'd want to be wearing clothes which were made by people

who were properly paid.

Pudsey Bear joins Josie d'Arby at the printers

to see the final stage of our Design A Christmas card competition,

and TV's Reverend Kate Bottley

will be trying out some clergy couture.

If I look good, then I feel more confident

and I think I do a better job.

We have a great mix of music for you today,

with performances from Only Men Aloud and Jermain Jackman.

Let's begin the singing with a traditional favourite

from St Mary-le-Tower Church in Ipswich.

As part of London Fashion Week,

fringe events are popping up all over the capital.

I'm here at Old Spitalfields Market

where this evening, they're hosting a fashion show

as diverse as the location.

It was set up in 2008 by a former model and Christian

who noticed a lack of diversity in the modelling industry.

They're challenging the idea that models have to be super tall

and super skinny.

People come in all shapes and sizes, so why shouldn't models?

Most clothes are designed for one shape,

and I think anyone outside of that shape,

anyone who's a bit sort of diverse,

really struggles to find clothes that fit

and find clothes that should sit how they should.

The show's stylist Dennis Immanuel knows how important clothes are

for every occasion, including worship.

If you're going to see the Queen,

you'd dress appropriately, wouldn't you?

Well, on a Sunday you go and see God,

and there's an attitude that you take when you dress

when you're going to see God, so it does matter to Christians.

Today is one of my proudest achievements

because I haven't actually done a live catwalk show.

Wow. This is the first time in five years since my spinal cord injury

to do this.

I love fashion. I'm very proud of that.

And to be included to roll down that aisle and everyone watching me,

I want to go for it.

We'll hear more from the models later as they take to the catwalk,

but first a great performance from a Welsh male voice choir

with a difference.

It's Only Men Aloud.

# I have run, I have crawled

# I have scaled these city walls

# These city walls

# Only to be with you

# But I still haven't found

# What I'm looking for

# But I still haven't found

# What I'm looking for

# Glory, glory

# Hallelujah

# Glory, glory

# Hallelujah

# Glory, glory

# Hallelujah

# His truth is marching on

# You broke the bonds # Glory, glory

# And you loosed the chains

# Carried the cross of my shame # Hallelujah

# Oh, my shame # Glory, glory

# You know I believe it # Hallelujah

# But I still haven't found # Glory, glory

# Hallelujah # What I'm looking for

# What I'm looking for

# His truth is marching on # But I still haven't found

# What I'm looking for # Glory, glory

# Hallelujah # Hallelujah

# But I still haven't found # His truth is marching

# What I'm looking for # On

# What I'm looking for. #

I've had some great moments with fashion. Not that one.

No, not that one either.

Look, look, the point is, I've always had fun with clothes,

but for some people,

it's a very serious multimillion pound business,

so where does faith fit in?

# Smooth operator... #

For 30 years, Simon Ward has been part of the British Fashion Council.

Now an author,

he's written about the relationship between fashion and faith.

This is the British Fashion Council press and buyers' lounge

for all the VIPs.

After all the shows, they all come in here

and all discuss how the shows have gone,

what they're going to place orders for

and then to generally have a gossip about the whole day's events.

It's an odd combination, isn't it? Fashion and faith?

Do you think that God is interested in fashion?

Well, I don't think it's odd at all.

If you look at the Bible starting at the beginning,

God didn't start with a business plan.

He started with an act of creativity.

He created the seasons,

so let's not talk about why do we always have change.

And God was the first fashion designer

when Adam and Eve got it wrong.

They tried a fig leaf, which obviously didn't work,

and God ran up some leather togs for them,

so he was the first fashion designer.

And all the way through the Bible, fashion appears.

The only picture we have of Jesus in heaven is,

he's wearing a long robe with a golden sash around it.

In his recent book, Simon asks,

"If God were in charge of the fashion industry,

"how might he run things?"

Um, I could probably be held up for heresy

and thrown out of the church for that.

I think he'd want clothes which were well made.

I think he'd want to be wearing clothes

which were made by people who were properly paid.

I would think he would want to wear clothes

that the unused dye wasn't just put out into the rivers

which then killed the fish which meant the local populations,

you know, had nothing to live off.

So, I think he wouldn't just

be worried about the way it looks externally.

He'd actually want to know,

"Where did this come from, who made my clothes and how?

I've got three daughters

who love fashion and are influenced by what they see.

How do you think the public mind-set with regard to size and body image

can be influenced by the fashion industry?

It's the creators, really, at the designer end of the industry.

They sail pretty close to the wind.

They're trying to create something,

an image which is really very strong, and quite often that means

they work with particularly skinny models.

And talking to quite a few model agencies, they say,

"Look, if only the sample size that was used went up

"by just one or two, all this issue would probably go away."

It's really important that designers and stylists

recognise the influence they have, particularly on young girls.

My faith has been crucial all through the years

I've worked in fashion, and one of my favourite hymns has always been

"Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee."

And for me, that means that whether I'm leading worship on a Sunday

or whether I'm dealing with a designer

or a particularly difficult challenge

at London Fashion Week,

the way I deal with that and approach it

is dictated by my faith,

so the two really have to sit together.

When it comes to fashion,

it's not just top models that like to cut a dash.

Some of our clergy are getting into designer wear too,

as TV reverend Kate Bottley finds out.

Since I was ordained in 2008,

it's been a constant battle of what to wear with my collar,

so I'm really excited because today I'm off to meet a reverend

who has set up a business especially

to design day-to-day wear for female clergy.

Reverend Sandra Sykes came up with the concept

of Collared last year with her daughter and a friend,

and it's going from strength to strength.

So, what's going on here? Well, we're having a photoshoot.

So, this is Phaedra and Beth,

who are getting the next collection onto our website.

Tell me about...where did the idea for the company come from?

Well, I was ordained two years ago,

and I very quickly found out there was very little out there

in the way of clothes that I felt comfortable with and wanted to wear.

There were a lot of adapted male shirts.

That colour is amazing on you.

I like it. It's cornflower.

Kind of good, you know,

if you're doing a wedding, you can go on to the reception.

You look fabulous in it. I love it. Thank you.

I'm really pleased, Sandra, because for me, this is well needed,

because what I've been doing is buying dresses off the peg

in shops and trying to sew my own collars in

because I'm so desperate to wear something that I actually like.

What would you say to people who say this is disrespectful to the cloth?

You know, the collar is a wonderful thing.

Really opens doors. Really opens conversations.

But why can't we look like women

or wear things we would like to wear as well?

I think I want to go look at some clothes.

Can we go shopping? Yeah!

Sandra is helping me to find a new work outfit

from her collection.

I begin with trying on some colour.

It looks good on all shapes, sizes and ages.

Now, I'm not quite convinced by this one. Yeah.

That's fair enough.

When I was first ordained and when I bought my first clergy shirts,

I bought all colours.

What I found is that in my context where I'm being a vicar,

it confused people.

And when I was wearing black, it made me stand out more

and people knew straight away what that colour meant.

So, when it comes to the colour and the pattern,

have you had any complaints?

Yes.

We have had some comments about

the clergy should disappear behind black -

black being the sign of our sinfulness -

and so we need to be reminded that we are sinful.

'Although I mostly wear black myself,

'I don't feel it's an essential part of being a vicar,

'so I consider some more unusual outfits.'

That's quite a bold choice, isn't it?!

It is, but Christmas is coming!

'And I then come across this one.'

Oh, you look fabulous. Do I? You do. Bless you. Let's have a look.

Oh, you look great.

Oh, I really like that.

It's actually a clergy outfit I might want to wear. Yes.

And it's very professional.

Like, I could wear this doing a funeral.

For the wake afterwards, I could wear this.

I could wear it to a wedding reception.

I could even wear it day-to-day vicaring, school assemblies,

that sort of stuff.

It would do any occasion. But it's lovely.

Very versatile. Really nice. It's very useful.

This is the one. That is the one? Yeah, this is it.

I love this one.

Sandra, clothes aren't the be-all and end-all of everything, are they?

No. We're doing a great job for Jesus, that's what we're doing.

That's who we love, and the clothes are just a part of that.

The Bible tells us, doesn't it, "The lilies in the field

"be more beautiful than Solomon in all his glory,

"and how much more will our father in heaven

"clothe us who love him?"

And for me, that speaks of God's concern

that we exude that beauty that's beyond clothes.

It's actually an inner beauty.

Believe it or not, September is a big month

for the sale of Christmas cards.

Back in April, we launched our competition inviting amateur artists

to design a Christmas card, with proceeds going to Children in Need.

Now it's time to get them ready for sale.

I'm here at the printers, where our 10 chosen Christmas cards

are going to be printed in their thousands

for the very first time.

And three of our competition winners have come to see it happen

from start to finish.

Spencer, hi. Hi.

Let me introduce you to our winners. We've got Orla, Denise and John.

Hello. Congratulations. Thank you.

Exactly. They're all excited, so over to you, Spence.

OK, this is the beginning where we just go through to the graphics.

The ten original card designs, including two by children,

have been scanned into the computer software.

So here, what we do with the ten cards is,

we lay them all out on a sheet into position.

So, John, you were saying this is your first time

seeing yours on the screen. There you go.

That's beautiful, isn't it?

When I first sat down to do it,

I thought, "What does Christmas mean?

"It's Jesus Christ."

And I'm not very good on camels yet,

so, who were the first people that made the long trek

to see Jesus Christ?

What was the first thing they saw at Bethlehem?

It was a star. Fantastic. Simple is best.

What were you thinking when you came up with your design?

Silent Night is my favourite hymn,

and it tells the story of Christmas for me.

And it's such a lovely melody, and I felt I just had to do it.

And we've got a completely different scene from you, Denise, haven't we?

It was obvious what I had to do. Yeah.

So I thought of the mother and child. Mm-hm.

And then the importance of the star.

And I put the black cross in

as the future of what was in store.

I love the power of that colour coming through that.

It just radiates.

That's the meaning of Christianity, isn't it?

Yeah. Beginning and the end. Yeah. The beginning and the end.

The computer then creates templates of the design

to put into the printing press

which outline which colour to print where.

We probably print about 70,000 to 80,000 cards an hour.

Looks like a messy business. Yeah. A little bit. Yeah.

The paper is put in at one end of the machine...

Go!

..and then out come the cards in their thousands at the other end.

Wow. Looks good. It's beautiful.

Yeah.

And now you can see them all next to each other as well.

What do you think about the selection?

It's terrific.

It's got a real religious, beautiful theme to it. Yeah.

But look at those two children saying their prayers.

It's so sweet, isn't it? Beautiful.

There's something for everyone there. They're beautiful.

I like the snowman, his nose. He's got a nice... Yeah.

These came out really well. And these two penguins.

The mistletoe will bring them together. Yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

And now the final step.

The prints are cut and folded

and ready to be revealed to our winners.

Hello, hello, hello. Hello!

The fruit of your labour.

I have the finished cuts.

Fantastic. Yeah.

I think they're wonderful,

and it's such a good way of raising funds for Children in Need.

Well, guys, we've got one more surprise for you -

someone who wants to say thank you.

Pudsey, how are you?

He has a present for each of you.

Thank you very much.

Just a small thank you from Songs Of Praise

and BBC Children in Need. Thank you very much.

For details of how to buy a set of these lovely cards

all in aid of Children in Need, go to our website.

That's:

Ladies and gentlemen,

we welcome you to tonight's show by Models of Diversity.

The great thing about this fashion show

in Old Spitalfields Market

is that the models represent a different range of people.

They're from a charity called Models of Diversity,

because we don't all come in one shape and size.

We've been going for over eight years now,

but now they're actually taking us seriously

and they're actually listening to a lot of the supporters

as well that we've got, because we've got a lot of supporters.

They're actually starting to listen

that there is people out there in wheelchairs

and there is models of colour and there is plus-size models out there,

and we all love fashion.

I believe God gave me the talent and skill and the passion

to want to be in fashion and to be a stylist.

I believe that my skill brings enrichment

and it's a chance to express the love of God

that he has for the world through me helping them look better

and feel better about themselves.

Did you pick them out yourself?

I did pick them out myself from local designers. This is...

The models have all got their own reasons

for wanting to be here today.

Nicki Donnelly was a police officer

before a car accident in 2011 left her paralysed.

How did your attitude to fashion change after the accident?

Honestly, before my car crash,

I never realised how difficult fashion is in a wheelchair.

Just trying on clothes in a high street store,

changing rooms aren't accessible, clothes are too high.

Clothes alone have to be adjusted myself back at home.

What I'd love to see more than anything

is a mannequin on a wheelchair. Yeah.

That shows they've included me.

It's been a long journey back to health for Nicki.

Following her accident,

she was close to death and spent two years in hospital.

That is when I genuinely...

..gave up on God, and that I felt alone,

I felt powerless.

But I knew I was a mother, I needed to fight back.

I had to adjust very quickly to being a woman in a wheelchair.

And even now, it's hard.

What was it that restored your relationship with God?

My daughter said a prayer for me at church,

and to this day, I've still got that prayer with me.

And she reminded me that God still loves me

and God will never give up on me, just like my daughter never will.

# As I lay me down

# Heaven hear me now

# I'm lost without a cause

# After giving it my all

# Winter storms have come, hmm

# And darkened my sun

# After all that I've been through

# Who on earth can I turn to

# I look to you

# After all my strength is gone

# It's in you I can be strong

# I look to you

# And when melodies are gone

# It's in you I hear a song

# I look to you

# About to lose my breath

# There's no more fighting left

# Sinking to rise no more

# Searching for that open door

# And every road that I've taken, yeah

# Led to my regret

# And I don't know if I'm going to make it

# Nothing to do but lift my head

# I look to you

# I look to you, hey

# After all my strength is gone

# In you, in you I can be strong

# I look to you

# You, you, you

# And when melodies are gone

# It's in you I hear a song

# I look to you. #

APPLAUSE

It's great to see an audience really appreciate a fashion show

that embraces our differences.

It's been a brilliant experience for those watching and modelling.

It was an amazing feeling.

That sense of achievement, hearing the crowd cheer and support you

was what I really needed to hear.

And that's almost it.

Today we end with a hymn that celebrates the beauty

of everything around us.