Last month, the fashion capitals around the world boomed with new designs for the fall 2007 fashion weeks. New York’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week was the home to the runway shows of Tommy Hilfiger, Evisu, Anne Klein, Ralph Lauren, and many more. On Feb. 9 at the Roseland Ballroom, a new chapter in fashion history was made with the ‘Designs for Darfur’ fashion event in which almost 100 American designers came together to help raise funds and awareness on behalf on the Save Darfur Coalition.
The designs strutted down the runway on celebrity models like Carol Alt and Iman as well as other heavy-hitters of the fashion business, including Designs for Darfur co-founder Lydia Hearst.
The common denominator for the designs was class and femininity. Several designers boasted long gowns and deep colors. Shorter length dresses of light chiffon and delicate satin stood out boldly in yellow and red. This combination of ‘hard and soft’ is fantastic because it doesn’t necessarily identify with one season. Deep colors suggest evenings.
There were a few men’s designs presented in the show featuring clean-cut suits and boyish sweaters. The trend, as it was with the women’s collection, was sophisticated and flattering. The designs were contemporary mixed with neat and noticeable fashion which complimented the beauty of the feminine silhouettes of the ladies’ designs.
‘Designs for Darfur’ was created by designer Malcolm Harris and model Lydia Hearst-Shaw. According to savedarfur.com, Malcolm Harris said, ‘I want to get on a soapbox to make the world see that [the genocide in Darfur] is real and it is happening. I will do everything I can to help.’ EBay held an auction following the fashion show. All of the proceeds went to the Save Darfur Coalition.
Truth be told, I had some difficulty this week deciding what to write this column about. I was going through the Fashion Week wrap-ups and came upon endless photos from the ‘Designs for Darfur’ show and it won my heart in seconds. This is an event that took place during one of the biggest social and cultural events that New York holds and it was orchestrated and executed to aid those in dire need. Almost 100 designers came together with their specially-designed pieces to combine beauty with humanism. As if I needed another reason to love fashion.
