Designer charity begins at home

The news that the Beckhams are donating their cast-off duds to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines should have fans and fashionistas rushing to add their mite to a good cause — and bag some designer loot in the bargain.

The idea of an auction mitigates the dangers of designer wear suddenly becoming déclassé by virtue of appearing on the backs of devastated refugees instead of on models festooned about the cultivated carefully-careless environs of a high-fashion shoot.

In any case, good causes are best served by celebrities auctioning their cast-offs and donating the money, instead of naïvely thinking that designer bags or clothes may be just what refugees need to lift their spirits.

However, as the recent phase of freak storms in the western world indicates that soon disaster zones may move to new areas, so the well-meaning folks who want to donate their warm clothes for storm relief may not find their efforts rebuffed any more.

Indeed, even more significant — from the fundraising point of view — is the Beckhams’ move to sell all the contents of their former home in Britain as they move into a new one, and donate the entire proceeds to charity.

Now, that is something that our peripatetic homegrown celebrities would do well to emulate, as it would help both ordinary people and, of course, the homeware industry.