Last New York Fashion Week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) launched “Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood,” a campaign to raise awareness of the health care organization. Given that the dumpster fire that is the current state of politics in America rages on, the CFDA is continuing its advocacy efforts for the Spring 2018 season. This September, the council is teaming up with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on an initiative appropriately dubbed “Fashion for ACLU.” The goal, as with Planned Parenthood, is to raise awareness (and cash) for the social justice organization. (For those not familiar, the ACLU works to uphold civil liberties and fight racism. Learn more about it here.)
“We want to be on the front line, not the sidelines, to boldly fight to protect our precious rights and freedoms, which has taken on a renewed urgency after the heart-wrenching events of Charlottesville,” stated Steven Kolb, President and CEO of CFDA. “Our goal is to actively support concrete work that will move our country meaningfully forward. The ACLU is doing that critical work.”
[ Related: 13 Times Designers Got Political at New York Fashion Week ]
Participating designers — Derek Lam, Diane von Furstenberg, Narcisco Rodriguez, Everlane, Prabal Gurung, Public School, Tracy Reese and over 43 others — will feature the “Fashion for ACLU” tagline at their presentations and parties. They will also distribute the organization’s signature blue ribbons (as seen at this year’s Academy Awards). Show-goers are encouraged to post ribbon-flaunting selfies with the hashtags #StandWithACLU and #FashionforACLU. (Hot pink buttons are sooo last season, y’all.)
The #FashionforACLU ribbon; Image: CFDA
Ride-sharing app Lyft will take care of the fundraising aspect. For every ride a model, editor, blogger, #influencer, highly caffeinated intern, etc. takes to or from a Fashion Week event, Lyft will donate $5 to the ACLU. Given that Spring 2018 will be New York’s first decentralized fashion week, those rides could add up quickly (although Lyft’s generosity caps out at $10,000). To participate, enter the promo code “FASHIONSTANDS” in your Lyft app.
“We are grateful that the CFDA is willing to use its reach and influence to stand up and protect our civil liberties at this unprecedented time in history,” Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, said in a statement. “I’ve no doubt that the individual and collective voices of the fashion industry proclaiming ‘We the People’ will resonate far beyond the runway this September.”
Let’s hope they carry all the way to Washington.
[ via the Cut ]
