Holocaust survivor Henny Franks, 102, stole the spotlight at GIFT’s “Beyond the Label” fashion show in London
More than 400 women filled The Hive London for GIFT’s annual “Beyond the Label” fashion show, an expanding community initiative that has become one of the UK Jewish community’s most anticipated celebrations of inclusion.
Launched four years ago as a volunteer-led project by two Jewish high-school students, the show has since evolved into a major social-action platform featuring women whose life stories often fall outside the polished narratives of mainstream fashion. This year’s event was headlined by 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Henny Franks.
Franks survived the Holocaust after fleeing Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport from Cologne at age 15. She later joined the British Army’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II, serving as a truck driver transporting ammunition after training in Nottingham. On her 100th birthday, she was awarded the Defence Medal, the War Medal 1939–45, and the HM Armed Forces Veteran Badge — recognition she said left her “overcome with joy,” proud to have “done her bit” for Britain and for the Jewish people.