On September 22nd, 2012, I did something a little outside my usual comfort zone — I traded my violin for a red dress and joined a lineup of local celebrities on the catwalk for the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Heart Truth Celebrity Fashion Show in Calgary.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of the show, and it’s built around a message that’s hard to ignore: heart disease and stroke is the number one killer of women in Canada, yet women can reduce their risk by as much as 80 per cent through lifestyle changes. The event brings that message to life through the “red dress” campaign — top Canadian designers create original red dress designs, and the gowns are modelled by familiar faces from television, film, music, sports, and the arts, all in support of raising awareness for women’s heart health.

I had the honour of wearing a stunning piece by Calgary designer Marsina King, and I also got to perform at the event, which meant I spent the evening moving between two roles I don’t usually combine — model and musician. There’s something surreal about walking a runway one moment and picking up a violin the next, but both felt like exactly the right way to be part of something this meaningful.

Events like this matter to me because they take something as personal as heart health and turn it into a shared, public conversation. Every woman on that runway was there because the cause is real and close to home for so many of us. Being part of it, even in this slightly glamorous, slightly out-of-my-element way, was a genuine privilege.

Huge thanks to the Heart & Stroke Foundation for the invitation, to Marsina King for the beautiful dress, and to everyone behind the scenes who put together such an important night.

Sophie