Duchess Of York Becomes Queen Of The Catwalk

The Duchess of York has helped to raise money for those affected by Ebola by strutting her stuff on the catwalk on the eve of London Fashion Week.

In a long, black, sleeveless dress, Sarah Ferguson paid little attention to her posture or poise as she joined a number of other celebrities at Fashion For Relief - a charity event organised by supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli, Katie Price, Pixie Lott, Dynamo, Nicola Roberts, Vivienne Westwood, Georgia May Jagger, Caroline Flack, and Katie Piper were among the other famous faces on the runway.

The evening was rounded off with a performance by Ella Eyre, who sang a ballad-version of Gravity.

Eyre told Sky News: "London fashion week is brilliant I think because fashion is such a big part of British culture and I think it's nice to see all the influential people get together.

"I only went to it last year for the first time and it's a completely different world to what I'm used to."

London Fashion Week is a trade show at heart but with so much glitz and glamour, it feels more like a celebration of one of Britain's most important industries.

"The British fashion industry as a whole is worth £26bn to the British economy and it employs hundreds of thousands of people," says Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council.

"At the fashion week itself is what we're going to be seeing in the stores in six months' time. It helps to set trends, it helps sets aspirations and it is a showcase of the very best British talent in this country."

Seventy-eight designers will be showing over the next five days, and there will be 55 catwalk shows.

This season the British Fashion Council is celebrating its Business Pillar by helping to boost the profiles of some of the country's lesser-known designers - brands that one day may themselves boost the British economy.

It means designers like Christopher Kane, Emilia Wickstead and Jonathan Saunders will show alongside established labels like Anya Hindmarch, Paul Smith, Topshop Unique, and Vivienne Westwood Red Label.

Campbell launched Fashion For Relief in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and has since raised money for a number of causes including the UK floods.