Having recently announced an ambitious plan to try to fundraise a staggering £150,000 for charity during her term in office, the Mayor of Wells, Tanys Pullin has launched her hugely bold and colourful idea,‘Tanys’s Transformation: The Mayor’s New Clothes’.
The Mayor’s Parlour is currently adorned with rails of wedding dresses, all of which form the foundations of Tanys’ idea. ‘Wedding dresses cost a fortune, sometimes upwards of a staggering £3,000, but of course many of them only get to be worn for the one big day, after which they’re confined to the back of the closet to gather dust. This got me thinking - what could I do to encourage people to upcycle their wedding dresses for a worthy cause?’
‘Tanys’ Transformation:The Mayor’s New Clothes’ is a project designed to encourage the community to bring their wedding dresses out from hibernation and give them a brand new lease of life turning them into show stopping gowns fit for a celebrity red carpet whilst raising money for charity at the same time. The idea stems from the ‘Red Dress Project’, an award-winning global, collaborative embroidery initiative which ran from 2009 to 2023 and saw the ‘Red Dress’, constructed from 87 pieces of burgundy silk dupion, travelling the globe, and being worked on by around 400 artists from 51 countries. ‘I just loved the concept and I didn’t see why an idea such as this couldn’t work on a more local level here in Wells. As such, I’ve been as busy as a sewing bee, collecting old wedding dresses, and recruiting a posse of creative artists and designers, to help bring the project to life.’
The project is now on course to have at least 40 exhibits, each of which will be modelled at an exclusive catwalk event which is scheduled to take place in the spring of next year in the magnificent setting of Wells Cathedral. Tanys has chosen two charities to target with her fundraising, ‘Heads Up’, a mental health charity that works with children and young people, and ‘Whizz-Kidz’, an organisation dedicated to providing equipment for young wheelchair users. Tanys is now calling for businesses across Somerset to step forward and sponsor a dress and to donate at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mayorofwells. ‘It’s a fantastic way for businesses to fulfil their Corporate Social Responsibility requirements whilst involving their employees in a highly creative, imaginative and altruistic project’, says Tanys. ‘Businesses are coming forth in their droves. Amba clothes shop in Wells are transforming two dresses into Prom dresses whilst Charlton House in Shepton Mallet have created a stunning multi-coloured dress, adorned with silk flowers. Hippychick, a baby & toddler company based in Bridgwater are planning to gather drawings from their customers’ pre-school children which will be printed onto transfers and ironed onto the wedding dress worn by the founder, Julia Minchin, thirty years ago (and which she can still fit into!)’
Following the catwalk show, the project will then set up a series of exhibitions in Wells. Initial venues include Wells Cathedral, The Bishops Palace and the Bishops Barn. ‘It was important to get the first dresses underway, so individuals, as well as businesses, can see how a dress can be transformed quickly, easily and at minimal cost. I wore one of the dresses to Glastonbury earlier this year and took along a bag of colourful permanent markers, everyone wanted to get involved with colouring in my dress! Yes, it’s an ambitious project but I’m determined to make this work and it is these inspirational charities that are driving me day and night.’
To get involved you can email reception@wells.gov.uk (type ‘Mayor’s New Clothes’ into the subject header) and Tanys will be in touch!
