A Unique Mark Of Respect For A Unique Woman
The Death Of Sophie Lancaster - Two Years On
Sophie Lancaster was a Goth. She was also an intelligent 20 year old woman with a bright future. She was beaten up and killed simply for looking different in August 2007. Now, two years on, to mark the anniversary of her death on Monday 24th August, make-up artists across the UK are celebrating the girl who loved to experiment with her looks.
Top make-up brand, Illamasqua - the UK based premium make-up brand that has rapidly grown a cult following worldwide after launching with Selfridges London in November last year - has supported the charity set up in Sophie's name, The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, since the day it launched.
And, to mark the anniversary of Sophie's death on Monday, the brand has announced this as its official day of mourning. All of the staff working on Illamasqua's seven national beauty counters - in leading department stores in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff, Belfast and Dublin - will be showing their respect and promoting tolerance by wearing black silk arm bands.
All of the counters will be showing bold and beautiful on-screen imagery of Sophie, with messages about the foundation's work. Anybody who buys the SOPHIE black pencil on the Illamasqua counters on this day will also receive a SOPHIE wrist band, enabling all who wear it to show the world they believe in tolerance and respect for all cultures - including sub-cultures.
Illamasqua, which has its roots firmly based in tolerance and self expression will also show its respect and support for Sophie's family, by closing down its website and web shop, which receives over 4,000 worldwide hits a day. Instead, the site will display the charity's haunting advertisement, with a smiling picture of Sophie and a poignant message that reminds everyone to be more tolerant of each other.
On this day, visitors will be able to purchase just one product online - the Illamasqua SOPHIE pencil, where £3 goes directly to the charity.
Sylvia Lancaster, Sophie's mother and driving force behind the Sophie Lancaster Foundation comments, "I want Sophie's story to be an inspiration to us all to live in tolerance and to celebrate everyone's right to be who they want to be. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and Illamasqua are intrinsically linked - both promote and fight for the freedome to self-express.
"I applaud Illamasqua on its day of mourning for Sophie. It is simply about reminding people that they must take a stand and be exactly who they want to be, whoever or whatever that is - and that is also one of the main ovjectives of Sophie's charity. She would be thrilled."
