Leave it to Carine Roitfeld to find a safe way to organise a fashion show for a good cause. The renowned French fashion editor is staging Fashion Unites, the first ever self-filmed fashion show. The unique event is meant to “offer a moment of creative inspiration and uplifting entertainment for everyone doing their part by staying home while raising awareness for research efforts led by the amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19." And since the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of CR Fashion Book has previously helped to raise millions of dollars for amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research through her annual star-studded Cannes galas, she has the experience to ensure the exceptional 30-minute non-profit event is a spectacular affair. Fashion Unites will be streamed worldwide on YouTube on May 1 at 4 p.m. EST (11 p.m in KSA), so fire up your laptop to see all your favourite models.
“As we face times of great uncertainty, our support for one another is more important than ever," Roitfeld, who put on the first CR Runway event in Florence, says. "Embracing fashion as the creative expression through which to support the health and safety of our global communities, we hope this show can offer a small moment of hope, inspiration, and uplifting connection. A modest contribution as our world unites to collectively weather the storm of this pandemic together."
Directed by Fabien Constant and hosted by Derek Blasberg, YouTube’s Head of Fashion and Beauty, the first online celebrity catwalk show naturally has an all-star lineup. This includes Irina Shayk, Ashley Graham, Karlie Kloss, Hailey Bieber, Karolina Kurkova and Joan Smalls.
Kim Kardashian West, Adriana Lima, Winnie Harlow, Jasmine Sanders, Alessandra Ambrosio, Amber Valletta, Heron Preston, Halima Aden and Shanina Shaik are some of the other models of the moment set to take part in the second CR Runway fashion spectacle. The supermodels will wear creations from their personal closets, styled remotely by Roitfeld, a former model herself, and her team.
Other mega names in the fashion business who have signed up include Virgil Abloh, Alexander Wang, Diane von Furstenberg and Maria Grazia Chiuri. The designers and contributors will be sharing "exclusive tributes and messages of hope and gratitude” to the frontline heroes who are risking their lives while fighting the pandemic. The event will also include backstage footage of the work that went into producing the global collaboration.
Everyone involved in the Fashion Unites show has contributed their time pro-bono. Roitfeld, a former Vogue Paris Editor-in-Chief, and several creatives involved have also made personal donations to get the initiative rolling.
The amfAR Fund to Fight COVID-19 is a global initiative set up by amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS research. It assists in providing state-of-the-art resources and top infectious disease experts to support the development of treatments for the coronavirus.
