Tanya Lamons knows how to make dreams come true.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a dream to give survivors, cancer fighters and caregivers a moment to shine and maybe forget about cancer for minute and just feel beautiful and empowered,\u201d she said. \u201cThankfully, I got surrounded by the right people. They\u2019re like my tribe. We came together and we made this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n What Lamons and her tribe came together for was the inaugural Living Fashion Show \u2014 a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society (ACS) held at Civita Park in Mission Valley on June 30.<\/p>\n Lamons said she dreamed up the idea for the fashion show soon after she was diagnosed with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which is a cancer gene that gives people who carry it a 90 percent chance of getting cancer.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom, she was 36 when she passed away,\u201d Lamons said. \u201cBut [the fashion show idea] kind of inspired me to make it so it wasn\u2019t for nothing \u2014 and with the time I have, I want to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Recruiting models for the Living Fashion Show was easy for Lamons, who used her circle of friends she met through her work with the ACS Relay For Life event. Lamons got involved with Relay For Life five years ago after her first cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was incredible because all I ever knew about cancer was that everybody I knew who had it died and then there was this survivor lab and I saw people alive \u2026 and I was like, \u2018I can live, it\u2019s not a death sentence. I can live and it can be amazing.\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Relay For Life is a fundraising event where teams of people walk for 24 hours.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason behind that is because cancer never sleeps, so why should they?\u201d said ACS Senior Manager of Community Development, Karen Cook. \u201cIt\u2019s a celebration for those who have overcome their battle with cancer. It\u2019s an opportunity to remember those who have been lost and it\u2019s also a chance to gather people together to fight back against cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n Cook met Lamons through Relay For Life events and through another ACS fundraiser \u2014 an annual cabaret event that Lamons started three years ago.<\/p>\n Cook said the Living Fashion Show was a lot of fun and hopes it will also become an annual event.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really great seeing some of the other cancer survivors I\u2019ve met, though other events and in other ways, with ACS just out there having a wonderful time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cook isn\u2019t the only one who sees the fashion show becoming an annual event. Leilani Angel, a fashion show production specialist and organizer of the Living Fashion Show, said she hopes the show will grow to be one of San Diego\u2019s premier fashion events.<\/p>\n Angel met Lamons at a gym soon after Lamons was diagnosed with cancer, and she was eager to help when her friend reached out about putting on the fashion show fundraiser. Angel began organizing the event six months ago, contacting different fashion designers and people in the industry.<\/p>\n \u201cI specifically focus on ethical fashion brands, so I partner with brands that are mindful to people, animals and the planet that have a social component built into their mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n For the inaugural Living Fashion Show, three designers were featured: Golden Rule Boutique, a local designer and curator that specializes in fair trade fashion; Jungle Hippie, a brand that features high-end tie-dye pants and other casual wear; and Sharlene Borromeo from A\u2019doreus, a local fashion designer with a national following.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very thankful that the community came together with the social mission of celebrating cancer warriors and donating back to the American Cancer Society,\u201d Angel said. \u201cI think that\u2019s the nature of this entire event; it\u2019s good people with a good heart with a good social mission all coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n Lamons\u2019 dream of a fashion show for cancer survivors came true on June 30, but there is still one dream that is yet unrealized.<\/p>\n \u201cThe end dream is to end cancer,\u201d she said. \u201cI dream of events like this so we can reach out and give people a source \u2013 somewhere they can get help; it creates that feeling of community.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Dream](\"https:\/\/missionvalleynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/fashion-1.jpg\")
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Leilani Angel; models Michelle, Fran, Andi, Catherine, Rebecca, Larkin, Julia;
event producer Tanya Lamons; and model Crystal (Foto por Jeff Clemetson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/a>