Fashion industry launches Born Free collection and HIV initiative
A Celine tote for $220? A Carolina Herrera shirt dress for $255? And shopping for a good cause too?
No, you’re not dreaming.
The items are available to buy at Shopbop.com and Amazon.com as part of a new capsule collection launched to support the private-sector-led charity initiative Born Free Africa, with the goal of ending mother-to-child HIV transmission by Dec. 31, 2015.
Kenya-born, Brooklyn-based contemporary artist Wangechi Mutu collaborated with 22 fashion designers on the Born Free collection, including J. Crew’s Jenna Lyons, Miuccia Prada, Tory Burch and Isabel Marant. Items include drawstring pants, ladylike skirts, peasant blouses and scarves for women and children. Most items are priced less than $250, and all proceeds from sales benefit the organization.
The capsule is part of a series of fashion industry-led actions rolling out this spring to help highlight the global effort to achieve a generation free of HIV.
An article about the effort in the May issue of Vogue features photos by Annie Leibovitz following Victoria Beckham and model-designer-advocate Liya Kebede as they visit South Africa to learn about the work being done there to end mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
Vogue publisher Conde Nast has pledged to donate 100% of new subscription proceeds across all its brands, purchased through a Born Free promotion running in print issues and on websites. And the MAC AIDS Fund has pledged to match all purchases and donations to Born Free up to $500,000.
Beginning this month, Born Free is also releasing an advertising campaign, shot by Patrick Demarchelier, and appearing in Conde Nast magazines as well as outdoor media space. The campaign features models with their children, all wearing the Born Free collection. And on Mother’s Day, there will be a kickoff event in New York City featuring a number of participating collaborators and designers.
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