Saress proves a hot hit

It's this summer's must-have item for the beach and it's set to put the West Midlands on the fashion map.

The Saress, created by Wolverhampton designer Julia Fish, has been snapped up by thousands of women across the world, with more than 9,000 being sold.

Last night hundreds of fashion lovers descended on a hotel in the city to get their hands on one while raising thousands of pounds for a good cause.

The charity fashion show was held at The Mount Hotel in Tettenhall, pulling in more than £3,000 for the NSPCC. Organiser Julia, of Exclusive Collections in Tettenhall, was showing off colourful designs of her marvellous creation.

The design – a cross between a sarong and a dress – is billed as the perfect item for a beach holiday.

Professional models and women from the area took to the catwalk to show off the Saress and Wolverhampton department store Beatties was also on hand to show off summer swimwear.

Among the designs were a pale pink Saress, tiger print bikinis and sexy swimsuits. The show took an even more exotic turn when four belly dancers treated on-lookers a lively display.

Julia revealed her designs had been snapped up by women as far afield as France and Japan.

She said: "People have just gone mad for it. So many people around Wolverhampton just love it."

She said the night had been a real success.

She said: "Everyone put a great deal of hard work into last night's event so I want to thank everyone."

The Saress comes in seven print fabrics and three solid colours. To find out more log on to www.saress.com.