Models sign up for charity sneaker auction ahead of International Women’s Day

Models Jourdan Dunn and Eva Apio said the fashion business still needs to change as they launched a new charity auction celebrating International Women’s Day.

The pair have teamed up with streetwear shop Kick Game and donated some of their own sneakers for an Instagram auction raising money for the Young Women’s Trust.

Apio, who grew up around the industry with her mother who also worked as a model, said things were changing for the better.

She said: “I feel like the modelling industry is definitely evolving from when I was growing up, definitely seeing more heights but not enough dress sizes. Girls have to be able to look up to girls like them and feel it’s okay to be who they are. They can’t be a size 10 looking up to a size 6.

“I feel like the industry is changing day by day and people are starting to learn from their peers.”

Dunn, who was discovered shopping in Hammersmith Primark while still at school, hit the headlines when she appeared on the catwalk pregnant and then aged just 19 modelled at London Fashion Week only a few months after giving birth.

She said too many people “assumed” sneakers were only “loved and worn by men”.

She added: “In recent years women have really taken the market – I know that half of Kick Games customers are women. And I love it when a woman walks into a room, wearing a pair of really incredibly sick sneakers and we surprise men. We can also have fun with sneakers – we can dress them up, or dress down a smarter look – sneakers are versatile, just like women.”

Four pair of trainers – each signed by the two models – will be auctioned on Instagram via @kickgameuk with bidding ending at noon on International Women’s Day on Monday.