Inverness High School pupils gunge teachers to raise funds for Mikeysline!

Computing teacher Darren Brown and PE teacher Bruce Morrison are gunged by Wiktor Chwalek and Scott Sutherland.Computing teacher Darren Brown and PE teacher Bruce Morrison are gunged by Wiktor Chwalek and Scott Sutherland.

Two Inverness teachers sportingly agreed to be gunged during a week of fundraising activities by a city school which raised £800 for a mental health charity.

Pupils and staff at Inverness High School raised the money for Mikeysline amid concerns about the mental health of youths and young adults living under the current coronavirus restrictions.

A programme of fundraising activities culminated in Darren Brown, faculty principal teacher of ICT, and Bruce Morrison, PE teacher, being gunged.

The two gained the most money after pupils and staff were invited to put donations into tins bearing the faces of teachers throughout the week.

Other events included a staff quiz and a staff raffle, with prizes donated by the local community.

Headteacher John Rutter praised the S4 creative industries class for doing a “superb job” of getting the school involved in the fundraising events and said the amount raised was amazing.

“We are so happy to be able to offer some support to Mikeysline at a time when many children, youths and young adults are showing anxiety associated with events beyond their control,” he said.

“I am very proud of our pupils for choosing the charity in the first place and to pupils and staff for being so generous with both their time and money in making the fundraising effort such a success.”

Inverness fashion student has work showcased in the Big Apple to raise awareness of mental health charity

An Inverness fashion design student who completed her degree alone in lockdown is having her work showcased during New York Fashion Week.

Chloe Innes (22), of Oldtown Road, Hilton, was one of two winners in a global competition to raise funds and awareness for Inverness suicide prevention charity Mikeysline. Her collection, inspired by lockdown isolation and the efforts of the charity, will feature in a catwalk show for fashion house Flying Solo tomorrow – just days after World Suicide Prevention Day. The competition was launched after Pablo Lopez, the owner of the website Fashion Week Online, visited the charity’s Hive drop-in centre in Academy Street. He had watched the film, The Party’s Just Beginning, made by Inverness-born Hollywood actress and Mikeysline ambassador Karen Gillan, which looked at the issue of suicide.

Although the competition was open to designers worldwide, there was a focus on the Highlands after he learned of the area’s high suicide rate, particularly among young people.

Ms Innes, who graduated this year from Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh with a first class
honours fashion degree, said her designs were a tribute to the work of Mikeysline and that her
sustainable designs mirrored the charity’s ethos.

“The clothes we wear are a statement of who we are as individuals,” said the former Culloden Academy pupil.

“When we are trying to enforce a positive image about ourselves, our look should reflect who we want to be.” She said organisations such as Mikeysline were integral for the future of the Highlands. “We are living in a time where, now more than ever, it is important to have a positive support system around us,” she said. “Percentages of loneliness are rising alarmingly quickly in Scotland with 43 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds reporting feelings of loneliness during lockdown.

“My collection takes inspiration from my personal experience in lockdown, from the emotions I felt and how I dealt with them. “In April, I completed my four-year-long degree alone in my childhood bedroom. “It was not the ending I had always dreamed of. However, it was the ending I had.

“It left me with many anxious feelings about the future.”

She is now hoping to start her own sustainable brand and move to London to build a career in the fashion industry. She wanted to send a strong message across the Highlands and beyond. “I hope that this collection can bring about a positive change in raising awareness of the services available and bring hope and happiness to people through fashion,” she said.

She explained her designs included hexagonal-shapes to represent the importance of the Hive project while green tones, representing nature and tranquillity, were thought to relieve stress and help to heal.

The Hive, which offers appointments and drop-in services, recently re-opened after being closed during the coronavirus lockdown.

Mikeysline also offers a text line service at 07779 303 303.

Lockdown isolation and the efforts of a mental health charity have inspired a young Inverness designer’s fashion collection which has won a place at the prestigious New York fashion week later this month.

Chloe Innes from Inverness was one of two international designers whose collections have been chosen to be featured on the catwalk at NYC fashion house Flying Solo’s show on the 13th of September 2020.

In the run up to World Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on September the 10th, Fashion Week Online have partnered up with Highland mental health charity Mikeysline and Flying Solo to raise awareness about chronic loneliness, depression, and the importance of getting help. Although the competition was open to designers worldwide there was a focus this season on the Scottish Highlands after the American organisers learned of the area’s high suicide rate, particularly among young people. 

Heriot Watt graduate Chloe’s visionary designs are a tribute to the work Mikeysline does around the Highland area for those experiencing mental health issues. She told Fashion Week Online how her sustainable designs mirror the charity’s ethos:

“The clothes we wear are a statement of who we are as individuals. When we are trying to enforce a positive image about ourselves, our look should reflect who we want to be.

Organisations such as Mikeysline are integral for the future of the Highlands. We are living in a time where, now more than ever, it is important to have a positive support system around us. Percentages of loneliness are rising alarmingly quickly in Scotland, with 43% of 18-24-year olds reporting feelings of loneliness during lockdown.

My collection takes inspiration from my personal experience in lockdown. From the emotions I felt and how I dealt with them. In April I completed my 4 year-long degree alone in my childhood bedroom. It was not the ending I had always dreamed of; however, it was the ending I had. It left me with many anxious feelings about the future.”

Much-like Mikeysline, Chloe wants to spread a strong message across the Highlands and beyond: “I hope that this collection can bring about a positive change in raising awareness of the services available and bring hope and happiness to people through fashion.”

Mikeysline’s The Hive Crisis Drop-In Centre has recently re-opened at 19 Academy Street in Inverness after the coronavirus lockdown led to its temporary closure. It offers appointment and drop-in services for those experiencing mental health issues in the Highlands.

They also offer a text line service at 07779 303 303.