How lucky are we to have friends, family and the where-with-all to share presents with loved ones. When I was young, my dad would drive down on Thanksgiving and Christmas to the Homeless Shelter and hand out money to the people there. I was always so impressed that he did that. This year I found myself wanting to do the same thing. I am always hesitant to give to Charities like Red Cross because you read about all of the abuses that occur with the money, and how it never gets to the people who need it. But, if you go there and give it personally to a person in the shelter, you know that no “administrative costs” will be deducted. Next year, I am going to find out where I can go to do the same thing. In fact, maybe I will do it tomorrow, except that I have a virus of some kind and I am not sure I will be up to it. If I do, I will blog about it. In writing an article for today,Christmas, I searched the internet high and low to see what Designers, who charge an arm and a leg for their clothing, donated to charity. I saw that in France, some designers made edible Christmas trees that were to be auctioned off. Victoria Secret was tricked into starting a campaign against rape when an activist group posted something on their behalf. People were so unhappy when they found out Victoria Secret had not initiated the Campaign that Victoria Secret soon adopted it as their own. “PINK loves CONSENT is our newest collection of flirty, sexy and powerful statements that remind people to practice CONSENT. CONSENT is a verbal agreement about how and when people are comfortable having “sex”. Okay, so they were more or less forced in to it, but at least it’s out there, thanks to the women’s activist group FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture
Other than this campaign, I really couldn’t find many others. One campaign is on my Blog of today Decemeber 25, 2013. In fairness to those I did find, I will list them. This is not to say that others are not contributing, it’s just that their presence was not that visible on my Internet search. These are:Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Angela Missoni, Kenneth Cole, James Ferragamo, Oscar de la Renta, Diane von Furstenburg, Donna Karan, Nicola Bulgari, Allesando Bennetton, Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Giorgio Armani, Frida Gianni (Gucci), Patrick Robinson (Gap) Donatella Versace, Neiman Marcus, and Valentino.Rock stars do it all the time. They do it together, individually, and various other ways that make lots of money. I don’t understand why Gucci, for example, can’t make a purse that is beautifully made, etc, and then donate a portion of the proceeds (heck, all of the proceeds) to their Cause. This is something that is definitely changing in our culture, since Lance Armstrong came out with Live Strong (what a shame about Lance!). However, among the designers, none have come out with anything “cool” or “trendy”. This also begin to make it “cool” and ”trendy” to stand up for a cause, something that is definitely lacking in today’s culture.This could be a win-win for any designer. Not only is it great PR, but it obviously would help some cause a lot.
Let me know what you think, or if I am wrong.
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December 25, 2013 Fashion Blog No comments
