The annual Home Tour fashion show tied haute couture to heart health Thursday at the Hyatt Regency Valencia.
The fashion show is put on to fundraise for Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital’s Roberta G. Veloz Cardiovascular Services. The theme of the event was “Red Carpet Ready,” with three different collections including formal/dinner wear, casual and business wear. The movie references were “Men In Black,” Wicked,””The Devil Wears Prada” and “Mamma Mia!”
“We’re doing this in February, which is heart month and it’s a way to raise funds and awareness of our great heart program and to support our local vendors,” said Marlee Lauffer, president of the hospital’s foundation. “To me, this has been a traditional event where we can celebrate the hospital and celebrate our volunteers and supporters.”
This event is a way to bring people together and learn about the services Henry Mayo provides and shows support for the hospital as a whole, organizers said.
“As a local attorney, I believe in helping my clients, being a representative of them, being their voice and advocating for them. So, this event ties into the same thing. It really gives back to the individual. Raising money, raising awareness, so I just find it so important,” said Darlene Trevino, attorney at Trevino Law Firm.
One way Home Tour and Henry Mayo showed support for the community was giving recognition to first responders who were involved in the recent fires.
“Well, we’re raising money for the cath lab and it’s fun for the community, it’s a good way to get together, have a good time, raise money,” said Holly Hanlin, president of Home Tour. “Heart disease is the No. 1 problem for women, so we figured a fashion show blends in with the theme. And it’s all about red and hearts and donating money to the cath lab.”
Hanlin added that Santa Clarita is a community people won’t find anywhere, where people want to help in any way they can. She added that all these different fundraisers go back to the community.
The fashion show was co-ed for the second time in a row, with men and women models strutting down the runway.
“Last year was our first year that we did a co-ed, a male and female fashion show … we wanted to raise the bar, ‘How do we raise more funds for the Henry Mayo and for the cath lab?’ and so we thought raise the bar and make it a co-ed event,” said Oscar Dominguez, co-chair of the event.
This year, they brought in more new male models, male vendors, male outfits and attire. By doing this, they increased their tickets sales by 20%, according to Dominguez.
