Meandering down the M56 I contemplated what an evening with Wilmslow’s finest would entail. Champagne, canapés perhaps, neatly groomed men and stiffly coiffed ladies? The Henri Lloyd S/S 10 showcase and charity auction delivered all this and some fabulous garments, fit for posing on yachts at Cannes.

Myself and my plus one were greeted at the door of the Alderley Road store in Wilmslow by store manager Janet; a smiley and beautiful blonde sporting a tight striped mini dress from the new line and nude stilettos. With a precision that was almost military we were ticked off the guest list, handed a glass of Laurent Perrier and ushered to the men’s collection.

Having expected waterproof anoraks and buoyancy aids I was suitably impressed by what the store had to offer. Think Ralph Lauren only off the Polo horse and onboard the racing yacht. Pastel hues were splashed throughout the range accompanied by a subtle nod to the patriotic in a manner of red white and blue knit wear.

After chasing the canapé tray, courtesy of Sylk Restaurant in Macclesfield, I arrived at the women’s collection. The colour pink dominated the scheme with fuchsia quilted jackets and baby pink polo shirts perfect for rosy cheeked sailing escapades. I was also pleased to notice that boating shoes are still on the scene since I purchased myself a gorgeous Kurt Geiger pair in the January sales.

However, back to Henri Lloyd and the band ‘Snatch’, comprised of handsome twosome Dan and Dom, whose indie vocals entertained whilst the store filled with millionaires.  Just before the charity auction kicked off Phil, from The Kirsty Club, introduced little Kirsty and the motive for the evening. Kirsty is aiming to raise funds to enable Francis House Children’s Hospice to build a much needed space for the hospitalised teenagers as.  “With the miracles of modern medicine” said Phil, “more and more terminally ill children are reaching adolescence and getting tired of being stuck with the youngsters!”

A quick Google search will show you that young Kirsty is quite the socialite, counting people like Mohamed Al Fayed as friends and donators to the cause. Kirsty’s star of choice this evening, however, was Coronation Street’s Samia Smith or Maria to Corrie fans. Sam urged the audience to dig deep and donate as “The Kirsty Club is a really worthy cause”.

The Auction began and it was over to Sylk Restaurant’s Chris Thomas to navigate proceedings as Auctioneer. Among the items up for grabs were a Jaguar XF for a weekend, spa treatments at Esthetique and signed Henri Lloyd sailing gear from Ben Ainslie. Despite some inevitable disappointments, most notably a rather heated battle for VIP V Festival tickets that peaked at £510 for the pair, the auction was light hearted and fun. Most importantly the night raised in excess of £1600, not counting the sales transactions as Henri Lloyd were donating 5% off each sale to the cause.

The evening came to a close and it was time to leave, but not before grabbing my Goody bag filled with fairy cakes, Simon Dunn truffles, vouchers and a pair of rather fetching Henri Lloyd socks.

Words and images by Jordan McDowell.

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