CFDA and ACLU join forces for Fashion Week

The Council of Fashion Designers of America and the American Civil Liberties Union have teamed up for "Fashion for ACLU", a joint initiative for the upcoming New York Fashion Week. The two organizations want to make it clear that despite the current political climate, they will not stand for bigotry, racism and intolerance.

The CFDA is encouraging all designers participating in New York Fashion Week to be vocal about protecting our civil liberties.

“We want to be on the front line, not the sidelines, to boldly fight to protect our precious rights and freedoms, which has taken on a renewed urgency after the heart-wrenching events of Charlottesville,” said Steven Kolb, president and chief executive officer of CFDA. “Our goal is to actively support concrete work that will move our country meaningfully forward. The ACLU is doing that critical work.”

Fashion stands with the American Civil Liberties Union

Designers are being encouraged to use both their runway shows and after parties to promote the "Fashion for ACLU" tagline and to distribute blue ACLU ribbons.

Top designers have already signed on including Diane von Furstenburg, Prabal Gurung, Public School and Alice + Olivia.

Gurung has been a big supporter of the ACLU, with a portion of proceeds from his PG t-shirt series going towards the organization. The t-shirts feature messages like "The Future is Female", "This is What a Feminist Looks Like" and "Love is Love".

“We are grateful that the CFDA is willing to use its reach and influence to stand up and protect our civil liberties at this unprecedented time in history,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. “I’ve no doubt that the individual and collective voices of the fashion industry proclaiming ‘We the People’ will resonate far beyond the runway this September.”

For Fashion Week, the ACLU has created a special NYFW ACLU blue ribbon to be distributed at shows and events from September 7 to 14.

The hashtags for the event will include #StandWithACLU and #FashionforACLU.

photo: via cfda.com