Reality Rewired: Inside Durham University Charity Fashion Show 2026

Glitchy visuals, standout looks and a sold out arena – here’s what went down at this year’s runway

1 hour ago

Charlotte Morgan | Guides

A permanent fixture of Durham’s social calendar, the Durham University Charity Fashion Show (DUCFS) has returned for its 43rd year. Established in 1983, the 2026 show saw four nights of powerful storytelling, blending fashion, technology and charity in perhaps the city’s most anticipated student event.

The show continues to strengthen its reputation as “Europe’s largest and most profitable student-led charity fundraising event”, with charity at the heart of what it does. Indeed, futuristic looks, immersive visuals and big-name sponsorships saw almost a year of student creativity culminate into a week of pure innovation. Since 2023, DUCFS has raised over £1.3 million for charity, having supported Macmillan last year, raising an impressive £180,000.

The Durham Tab spoke to the show’s 2026 Vice President and Creative Director, Augustus Jackson, who gave us an exclusive insight into the production of this year’s runway.

About the show and its mission

DUCFS has emerged as Durham’s largest and most renowned student-led event, boasting 51 executive members, 49 models and 118 ambassadors. When asked about why the show resonates so strongly with the Durham student community, Augustus told us that it is a project which “brings everyone together”.

Despite Durham students turning out in force for the show each year, with four nights at the 1000-capacity Sunderland Live Arena venue, its production is still a mystery to many. Each year, roughly 20 per cent of Durham students flock to the show, and support continues to increase as it becomes even more of a spectacle.

Augustus told us the show takes eleven months in total to produce, with the presidential team elected in June, followed by the rest of the exec, models in November, and ambassadors just before.

Partnerships also don’t just magically appear. So much goes into the show’s production, from sourcing big-name brands such as Tom’s Trunks, and Designer Exchange to feature. Others included Recreation Jewels, and most prominently, Red Bull, featuring a one-of-a-kind Red Bull dress which was a clear highlight, tying both names together.

What opportunities does DUCFS have to offer?

Being involved in DUCFS offers students far more than a place on the runway or behind the scenes — it provides an experience that is both professionally formative and personally fulfilling. On a professional level, DUCFS operates within a corporate-style structure, giving students first-hand experience of working in a large, multifaceted organisation.

Committee members develop essential skills in teamwork, leadership, and organisation, often running entire departments and managing tight production timelines. From coordinating creative direction to overseeing logistics, students learn how to operate within a structured team while taking real responsibility.

Crucially, the show also requires collaboration with external stakeholders — from sponsors to venue managers — giving students valuable exposure to professional communication, negotiation, and partnership management. It’s a rare opportunity at university to gain such tangible, transferable experience while still in a student-led environment.

A network of Durham creatives

Yet beyond the CV-enhancing benefits, many students describe their involvement as bringing “such fulfilment.” At its heart, DUCFS is about people. It creates a vibrant network of Durham creatives — spanning fashion, photography, videography, styling, marketing, and events — who come together to produce something ambitious and original.

For many, it’s the sense of community that defines the experience: meeting like-minded individuals, forming close friendships that last forever, and collaborating in a space that celebrates creativity, individuality and uniqueness.

This year’s president, Charlotte Edwards, said on the DUCFS website, “on a personal note, DUCFS has been a formative part of my journey at Durham. From my first year as an ambassador, to my second year as a Partnerships Director, and now as President, DUCFS has afforded me extraordinary opportunities and introduced me to exceptional individuals I may never have otherwise met.

“As I embark on my final year leading DUCFS, I am eager to continue drawing inspiration from the innovation, excellence, and inclusivity that define this campaign—and I remain committed to strengthening its impact and carrying forward the legacy built by the generations of students before us”.

Creative direction and production

This year’s show, themed Reality: Rewired (#Glitch), explores what it means to be a generation shaped, and often overwhelmed, by technology. Inspired by personal experiences of living constantly “wired in”, the concept reflects Gen Z life under the influence of AI, namely the rising usage of CHAT GPT, digital culture and hyper-connectivity, while giving each creative team as much freedom as possible to interpret the theme.

Every walk had its own colour palette, aesthetic and narrative, creating a cohesive but dynamic storyline that unfolded as the night progressed. The scale is vast: The fashion team coordinates hundreds of looks sourced through extensive designer outreach, including connections built at Graduate Fashion Week in London, while also overseeing choreography and pacing.

Sonically, the show incorporated hyperpop and electronic influences, inspired by artists like Charlie XCX and Sophie, layered with glitch effects and distorted soundscapes to evoke a system in flux.

A glitch in the system

Everything else John Davidson shouted at the BAFTAs, as racial slur causes Tourette’s debate

Horrid new details about body emerge as pop star is named a ‘target’ in teen’s death

I’m a Black person with Tourette’s, here’s my take on the John Davidson BAFTAs incident

The narrative begins with a traditional all-black, formal walk before a “glitch” fractures the aesthetic, dragging it into 2026 as the system begins to break down. A reboot follows, pushing hyperpop excess to its limits, before Delayed Future imagines retrofuturism — what the future was once supposed to look like.

Later sections explore the hidden power behind technology, shifting from dark industrial imagery into fluid renewable energy motifs, while another walk draws on queer histories and 1980s ballroom culture through robotic voguing and stylised movement.

The show then moves into an Ex Machina-inspired exploration of AI humanity, complete with subtle undertones of real human emotion, before closing with a mysterious, offline “new beginning.” In the final walk, everything loops back on itself: Models return wearing their favourite looks from earlier sections, suggesting that culture, technology and identity are always repeating, remixing and rebooting.

Fundraising and impact

This year, DUCFS supported Marie Curie, is on a mission to close the gap in end-of-life care. To kick off the show’s 2026 campaign, it joined DUCFS in Market Square to officially launch this year’s show. Proceeds will help support its Durham Companions service for two years and its North East Clinical Educator for one year.

Marie Curie provides a better end of life for people, whatever the illness, working with people to provide free palliative and end of life care, information and support. It campaigns to fund this research, seeking to help those living with terminal illnesses, and those close to them.

Once the charity of the year has been decided, DUCFS fundraising takes place in many different forms, including a broad range of events activities from charity rugby matches, a Jacob Elordi look-alike competition, club nights and much more.

Exec members, models and ambassadors each individually raise money, and Augustus confidently told us these targets were well and truly surpassed. These ranged from sporting challenges to more creative things, with previous fundraisers including climbing the Eifel Tower or scootering all the way to Newcastle.

On their website, it pledges that “every pound raised directly supports our chosen charity, as we strive to create a tangible impact within the local northeast community and beyond”.

Europe’s largest and most profitable student-run charity fundraising event

DUCFS is not only Durham renowned, but boasts the title of Europe’s largest and most profitable student-run charity fundraising event. This is complete with over 1.5 million annual profile visits and post views, plus 21,000 followers across social media platforms.

Significantly, in 2025, it welcomed over 4000 attendees and partnered with over 30 industry leaders.

DUCFS Launchpad

In addition, a portion of the money is donated to DUCFS Launchpad, the show’s independent outreach programme, dedicated to helping local communities in creative, innovative fields. It aims to support the creative arts, music and community, which truly resonates with the show’s ethos.

The show supports three projects including Durham for Refugees x City of Sanctuary, RTProjects, and DJ School Project.

Durham for Refugees is a student outreach initiative supporting the weekly Durham City of Sanctuary drop-in for local refugee families, providing a vital lifeline. Children take part in activities, games and tutoring led by student volunteers, while many parents attend conversation classes to strengthen their English reading and speaking skills.

Launchpad also funds additional weekly sessions of RTProject’s Open Art Surgery in the Gilesgate area of northeast Durham, helping the programme reach more participants. A third initiative, DJ School Project — delivered in partnership with student-led events company Rotate — works with local Durham Youth Clubs, giving young people the opportunity to learn music and DJ skills they might otherwise never access.

Augustus told us this is part of DUCFS’ aim to “make a difference in the place that we live”.

How to get involved

Looking ahead, preparations for the 2027 show are already on the horizon. Executive applications are set to launch in June, offering students the chance to take on leadership roles and shape the vision of DUCFS from the very top. Model auditions typically take place in mid-to-late Michaelmas term — usually around November — marking the beginning of the show’s creative journey.

Of course, modelling is just one of many ways to be involved. Students can join the presidential team, apply for executive positions, or work as ambassadors, each role contributing to the scale and success of the production. Whether your strengths lie in leadership, marketing, sponsorship, styling, media, or logistics, there is a place within DUCFS to develop your skills and make an impact. There’s also the opportunity to volunteer in supporting the production of DUCFS during show week!

And if being behind the scenes isn’t for you, simply attending the show is an experience in itself. Watching it live is a fantastic way to support the cause, celebrate Durham’s creative community, and take part in what has become a true rite of passage for any Durham University student.

For more of the latest news, guides, gossip, and memes, follow The Durham Tab on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Charlotte Morgan | Guides

Grads are using this test to find flexible, well-paid roles which suit their personality

Yep, it's possible to have both

Universum