<p>St Luke’s assistant shop manager Maria Nadine Barlow explained, “The students came and picked a variety of wedding dresses, to showcase all our styles. Then they’ve worked really hard on photoshoots and videos to promote just what gorgeous items we have available. It’s a brilliant way to show you don’t need to spend a fortune on a great dress. The dresses the students selected ranged from £150 to £300”.<br /></p> <p>Pre-loved clothing sales are a growing market, with 64% of women reporting they are willing to shop second-hand. Pinterest named "sustainable clothing" as one of its top clothing trends for 2019, with searches for "sustainable clothing" hugely up in the last year. Maria added, “Buying from St Luke’s may not come with the glasses of champagne you get in expensive stores, but smart brides know that with the saving you make you can save your cash for an amazing ceremony.”<br /></p>

<p>Three different models took part in the professional shoots, showcasing a range of fishtail, mermaid style and slender, elegant dresses. They were joined by photographers, make-up artists and stylists, all working to showcase the beauty of women of all different sizes. And the elegance of the sometimes ex-display or brand-new dresses available from St Luke’s shops.</p> <p>Ali Humphrey, second-year student on our <a href="https://cms.plymouthart.ac.uk/courses/ba-hons-illustration/">BA (Hons) Commercial Photography for Fashion, Advertising &amp; Editorial</a> programme, said, “When you come in it literally takes ten seconds to pull out a couple of dresses, and there are some amazing looks available. I hope people consider charity shops when looking for a wedding dress, because there are so many options. Why wouldn't you have a look?”</p>

<p>Tilly Warbuton added, “It almost has more meaning, because it has a story behind the dress that you're wearing. You can add a new story to it, and then you could also pass it on to someone else.”</p> <p>The wedding dress project is the latest in a series of collaborations between students from Plymouth College of Art and the much-loved local hospice charity. Previous partnership work highlighted the broad and great-value range of prom and ball dresses for parties or New Year’s Eve celebrations available in St Luke’s shops.</p>

<p>The St Luke’s retail division contributes £1 million to patient care of the £10million it costs to run the charity each year. This is vital for helping their specialist nursing and medical teams to care for people at the end of their lives, at home, in hospital and at the hospice’s specialist unit in Turnchapel.<br /></p>