On Christmas Day, Dean Newcombe and fellow Tokyo fashion model Sofi Bevan swapped the comfort of the catwalk for something considerably less glamorous: a weeklong 391-km trek across often-mountainous terrain in freezing weather. Newcombe trekked 14 to 16 hours a day, starting at sunrise from the beaches of Choshi in Chiba and ending up on New Year's Eve by the shores of Niigata. Bevan kept pace, with a few days off to heal severe blisters and boot rash.
Why did they do it? "I started feeling like I would rather be giving to a charity than wrapping a gift under a tree. I would rather dedicate my holiday season to support a cause I believed in," says Newcombe.
While the Briton has applied to register his trek as a new Guinness world record, the real motivation for the journey was to raise awareness of appalling garment factory conditions in Bangladesh, an issue that briefly captured the world's attention after the devastating Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, which claimed the lives of more than 1,100 garment workers. Walk4Work, as the models' project was called, was intended to send a strong message about the need to change the way clothing is manufactured around the world.