How seven deserving women got the wardrobes of their dreams for International Women’s Day

Kate-Lily de Graft-Johnson had been out of the workplace for nine months after suffering from depression and anxiety, when she was referred to Smart Works, the women’s charity of which the Duchess of Sussex is a patron.

‘I used to be a confident person and slowly but surely it got beaten out of me and I didn’t think I was worthy of any job,’ says the 32-year-old, who had secured a job interview at British Land as a central services manager when she was put in touch with the charity by an employment service. Once there, she received styling and interview advice, taking home an outfit to wear for the big day.

‘I don’t know what it is about clothes but it just kind of transforms you,’ she recalls. It worked: she became one of the astonishing 60 per cent of Smart Works clients who went on to get the job.

Today, she is one of seven Smart Works success stories who have come to Burberry’s London showrooms to choose a capsule wardrobe befitting their new jobs. It’s all in celebration of International Women’s Day, and the atmosphere is buzzing with excitement. Cheers go up each time one of the women comes out of the changing rooms in their new outfit.

Wearing a white Burberry dress, blazer and shoes - accessorised with a huge grin - De Graft-Johnson adds: ‘Words can’t describe what this means to me. This experience today has reminded me to never give up.’

The UK charity assists women returning to the workplace by providing high-quality interview clothes and interview training to those in need. Many are referred to Smart Works from job centres, work programmes, prisons, care homes, homeless shelters and mental health charities.

Many of Smart Works clients are from an ethnic minority, long term unemployed or have been unsuccessful with a large number of job applications, and 40 per cent are single mothers. So far, the charity has supported more than 13,000 women at their centres across the UK.

‘It’s a full range of women and each one of them wants to work but has lost that connection with who they are,’ says Kate Stephens, CEO of Smart Works. ‘We have a very specific moment where we help a woman before her job interview, which is when a person really sells themselves - if you can’t do that, that is a real barrier for succeeding. So we use clothes really as a way to unlock that confidence.’

In January, HRH the Duchess of Sussex announced that Smart Works would be one of four charities she will support as patron. Visiting the women’s charity first, she said: ‘It's not just donating your clothes and seeing where they land, but really being part of each other's success stories as women.

‘It's not just hand-me-downs, it's saying, “This is the blazer I wore that helped me win that interview, and this is the piece that helps that [other] woman get that part of her story”. So to know, as a woman coming in, that you have so many other women believing in you in the piece that makes it so special.’

Caroline Dunne, 38, was referred by Action West London after being a full-time carer to her son, who has autism, for 10 years. ‘I’d been looking for work for five or six months through the job centre and it was so hard trying to get back out there. I didn’t know what to wear for interviews and they were absolutely amazing.

‘The first outfit I got from Smart Works was trousers and a blazer and they gave me tips on what to say. I got the job straight away and now I’m a sales assistant at Marks and Spencer, and I’m absolutely loving it,’ she beams, wearing a bright red Burberry mac.

Burberry has supported Smart Works since their launch in 2013 by donating clothes, but this is the first time that they have hosted seven women in their flagship showrooms, dressing them from head to toe in Burberry.

In 2017 Burberry launched a five-year strategy to make their operations carbon neutral; using more sustainable raw materials, improving worker wellbeing and environmental sustainability; and finally, helping communities that support the luxury industry with a target of positively impacting one million people within those communities.

With one-to-one styling, each woman had the opportunity to curate her own wardrobe from a rack of clothes featuring both old and new stock. ‘It’s deceptively simple but you have to put the woman at the heart of it,’ says Stephens. ‘It’s about having a great collection of clothes so you’ve always got something for someone to wear. So you can imagine if someone says I can’t wear black, I’m this size, and I don’t want to wear a skirt, we have to have those options.’

‘We both believe in the transformative power of clothes and Smart Works empowers women by giving them the tools and confidence to succeed,’ says Judy Collinson, chief merchandising officer at Burberry. ‘Our partnership also contributes towards our efforts to revalue surplus stock, whilst supporting the communities around us. Such a positive outcome is something we can all celebrate.’

Before the women took home their chosen outfits at the end of the day, photographer Esther Theaker captured portraits of them in their new workwear wardrobe, featured here exclusively.

‘I always dreamed of having a Burberry mac,’ says De Graft-Johnson, after having her picture taken. ‘And now I have one.’