Fashion industry turns out for DKMS Gala

DKMS, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating blood cancers like Leukemia, held their 12th annual gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Wednesday, May 2. Members of the fashion industry were out to show their support, including iconic model Maye Musk, Camillo Pane, CEO of Coty Inc, and Frédéric de Narp, CEO of Bally. Pane, whose company is known for producing beauty products for top fashion brands including Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Gucci, and Burberry, believes that the intersection between philanthropy and industries like fashion and beauty is imperative.

"You need to have a conscious in business, because who cares wins," Pane said to FashionUnited. "In this modern society, we need to apply what we learn and do in business to help other people. That's how we do good in society. Philanthropy and business need to work together to help each other. It's a beautiful cause Peter Harf has started and we are happy to support."

Philanthropy has long impacted how Coty has done business, from the way they send messages to consumers to the way they do beauty products. When DKMS founder Peter Harf created the organization, Coty was one of their first supporters. Now, the nonprofit organization is the largest bank of bone marrow blood donors in the world. "We intend to continue supporting DKMS, it's at the core of our philanthropic efforts, and DKMS will continue with their beautiful cause, and Coty will continue to help DKMS find as many diverse donors as possible, because diversity is important for the donor pool," Pane said.

Coty Inc. continues its support of DKMS

On the ready-to-wear and accessories front, DKMS has also found a partner in luxury brand Bally. de Narp finds a very interesting intersection between fashion's relationship to philanthropy. "Philanthropy's job is to take on the difficult things in life and illnesses around the world, then you have fashion, whose job is to make life more joyful, it's about beauty," de Narf said to FashionUnited. "But they are both about passion. This passion and emotion for both comes together in the strongest way when they are serving people in need. I'm so happy to put Bally behind DKMS and support the beautiful work that they do."

As one of the few fashion brands coming from Switzerland, de Narf believes that Bally has a duty to give back, especially given Switzerland's history of philanthropy and charity work. "It's our duty as a unique fashion brand coming out of Switzerland to serve important causes. When Carl Bally founded the company in 1851, he made sure serving struggling communities was a part of the company's DNA. For me, this is about honoring his legacy," he said.

After 12 years of doing this gala, DKMS' cofounder Katharina Harf still sees every one as a pinnacle for moment for the organization to celebrate all the patients they've saved and their donors. This year, the organization registered their eighth million donor, which was a record breaking number for them. "It's amazing how far we've come from 27 years ago," Katharina said. "We're now in six countries on three continents. The word is getting out there more and more having a ripple effect. We just moved into Chile, and for us it's all about getting the most diverse donor pool. Here in the U.S. we're trying to do more initiatives to diverse our donor pool so minorities like African-Americans and Hispanics can have equal opportunities to get a transplant."

Educating the public has also become a big part of the organizations mission as they work on diversifying their donor pool. "What's great with the younger generation on college campuses and millennials is that they really want to help and make a difference. It's important for us to keep communicating with those young people to get the message out," Katharina said. "I'd like us to keep educating the public so when a donor is needed they are able to come through for those in need."

Other highlights of the evening included included a young African-American woman meeting for the first time the 22-year-old man whose life she saved by donating her bone marrow. 29-year-old Matene Canes, who is Muslim and identifies as lesbian, hopes her story resonates with minorities and the LGBTQ community in order to help inspire others like her to register with DKMS, the nonprofit leading the fight against blood cancer. Minorities are severely under-represented on the donor registry which makes it more difficult for minority patients to find a lifesaving match.

Other notable attendees included Grammy winner CeeLo Green, philanthropist Dasha Zhukova, shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos, music artist Doug E. Fresh, Lady Charlotte Santo Domingo, Alejandro Santo Domingo, CEO of DKMS U.S. Carina Ortel, chairman of Restaurant Brands International Alexandre Behringl, Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters and journalist Paula Zhan.