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FASHION 4 DEVELOPMENT
HOSTED 2ND ANNUAL
FIRST LADIES LUNCHEON
First Ladies, Designers
and Supporters from all over the World Attend F4D’s Premiere
Event
New York, NY (September 25,
2012) – Fashion 4 Development (F4D) hosted its 2nd
Annual First Ladies Luncheon on Tuesday, September 25th
during the 67th Session of the United Nations
General Assembly. Evie Evangelou, F4D co-founder
and global chair, along with Franca Sozzani, F4D’s
Goodwill Ambassador; H.E. Toyin Ojora Saraki, LLB LLM
BL, and Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation; her Royal
Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway;
Coumba Toure, Founder of Advanced Development for
Africa; and honored guest Madame Ban Soon-taek, First
Lady of the United Nations, welcomed First Ladies, fashion
industry leaders and worldwide supporters of the F4D
initiative for an informative and celebratory presentation.
Guests and honorees
including Livia Firth, founder of The Green Carpet
Challenge and creative director of Eco Age Ltd (www.eco-consultancy.com);
Martha Stewart, Lily Cole; Roberta Flack; Miss
Universe 2011 Leila Lopes; Rebecca Minkoff; Tory Burch;
Tommy Hilfiger; Stephen Burrows; Petra Nemcova;
Kimberly Chandler, wife of NY Knicks center Tyson
Chandler; Alex Wek; and Alexis Welch, fiancé
of NY Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire, joined First Ladies
and Royals from Angola, Albania, Bali, Benin, Burundi,
Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Gabon, Honduras, Iceland,
Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Paraguay, Poland,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal
and Zambia for the afternoon.
The First Ladies Luncheon
began with red carpet arrivals and a cocktail reception
replete with multi-dimensional artistic fashion
instillations. Designer Amy Cheung turned cloth into
sculpture with her garment “tree,” a colorful structure
bearing t-shirts as its fruit, while Cita Tenun,
Indonesia’s woven cloth association, presented a weaving
loom paired with a demonstrative video portraying Indonesian
cloth-making. Swiss-Italian designer Giovanni Lopresti
dressed models in his latest designs for a live
window-display-inspired backdrop display.
The afternoon continued
with an awards ceremony, presentation, and globally
influenced fashion show. Evie Evangelou presented three
awards to honor individuals who have made outstanding
efforts in championing the initiative’s mission. Madame
Oktiniwati Ulfadariah Hatta Rajasa, Chairperson and
Founder of Cita Tenun Indonesia, was honored with the
Women’s Champion Award for her generous work
empowering the community as well as preserving Indonesian
tradition. Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue
Italia, was the recipient of the Fashion and Humanity
Award for her advancement of F4D’s initiatives and
her noteworthy leadership as F4D’s inaugural Goodwill
Ambassador. H.E. Toyin Saraki, Founder of the
Wellbeing Foundation, was honored with the F4D Angel
Award for her work promoting women’s and children’s
health.
Evangelou updated the audience on F4D’s progress, stating,
"since last September, F4D has set up sustainable business
partnerships with the fashion industry in over 12 countries,
with a concentrated focus on Africa. With the integral
support of many individuals, organizations and brands here
today, we have been able to empower impoverished nations
through the power of the fashion industry. We look forward
toanother year with even more expansion, and are proud to
present our progress and new plans to such a prestigious
group of supporters and participants."
She announced the launch of
Beauty 4 Empowerment (B4E), an initiative that
rallies the support of the beauty industry to educate,
empower, enhance and enrich individuals and communities
across the globe, as well as the Founding Woman’s Circle,
Chaired by Cassandra Seidenfeld. Dr. Shirley
Madhere, F4D Vice Chair and Chair of B4E, introduced
actress, model, activist and academic Lily Cole as
B4E’s Inaugural Goodwill Ambassador.
Franca Sozzani took the
stage to present the progress made through her first year as
Goodwill Ambassador, highlighting the advancement of F4D’s
focus in the African continent. Kija Chung, Co Chair
of World Fashion 4 Development (WF4D) Asia,
expounded on the development of F4D’s scholarship program.
WF4D is the not-for-profit arm of F4D and represents the
collaborative program between F4D and a number of strategic
partners that raise funds to educate, train, and provide
other support to impoverished communities.
Two live fashion shows paid
homage to the past and future of F4D. Edun, Eredappa,
Okavango by Angelo Lambrou, and Sophie Zinga Sy
collaborated on a fashion show for Africa, F4D’s region of
focus for the past year. Evie Evangelou and Franca Sozzani
then announced Asia as F4D’s new region of focus moving
forward. This announcement was celebrated with an Indonesian
fashion show featuring the collections from Indonesian
designers Priyo Oktaviano and Sebastian Gunawan.
Both shows also showcased Vogue Boutique Jewelry by
Tanzila Rab.
Lead partners for F4D’s
First Ladies Luncheon include Cita Tenun, Vogue Italia,
The Green Carpet Challenge, Every Woman Every Child,
SourceFK, The Pierre Hotel, Vogue Vert, Advanced Development
for Africa, The Wellbeing Foundation and NY Eye & Ear
Infirmary, and Lifestyle Trimco (www.lfs-trimco.com).
Premiere supporters of the fashion show and production
were Sensation of House, Mina Molli Photography, Irina
Maslij Interiors, X’Tige Showroom, Hair by Eran Edri,
Amazing Cosmetics, CME Group, MAJOR Model Management, Boss,
KB 1111, and Eleonora Quizmolli, F4D Chair of
Event & Production.
For more information
regarding Fashion 4 Development, please visit
www.fashion-4-development.com |