BUTTE — A Butte fashion designer is using her talents to raise money for kids battling cancer and for the third year in a row, Lindsey Reilly's designs have been accepted for the annual Circus Couture event put on by the Cure 4 The Kids Foundation.
Reilly is taking her design inspirations straight from the pages of an old fairy tale and bringing them to life on a catwalk in Las Vegas.
"I always try to do something that’s just a little out of box and this one, I think, fit the bill," says Reilly.
She has been working feverishly since her designs were accepted just 30 days ago for the annual event and the theme of this year’s show is “Once Upon a Time”.
"Brunhilde was a German or Nordic princess. Her father wanted her to marry a man that she did not want to marry," says Reilly.
As the story goes, the king banishes Brunhilde to a mountain to be guarded by a dragon until her hero comes and slays the creature. A classic fairy tale, as fairy tales go, but Reilly says she chose the story in part because of a sentimental connection to her own family.
"My dad used to call me Brunhilde," says Reilly. "So, it was kind of a perfect natural choice but I also didn’t want to go super literal with, you know, just a typical Disney princess that you might find."
Reilly says there is an opportunity to use professional models for her looks but she always likes to choose someone she knows.
"They’re just regular people who are some of my very dear friends. A lot of them have been going through some trials and tribulations in their life and this is a way for me to boost them up, make them feel special and beautiful," says Reilly.
Reilly and her models will join professional circus performers as well as other designers, makeup artists, and hair stylists from across the nation for the one-night show taking place at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on May 2.
"Everybody there is adjusting everybody’s crowns," says Reilly. "Everybody’s there just to boost everybody up. It’s a really amazing collaboration for such a great cause."
