Look To The Stars News: Designers Against AIDS

Black Eyed Peas Singer Speaks About World AIDS Day

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:30:00 -0000

December 1 was World AIDS Day, and Black Eyed Peas singer apl.de.ap sent this message to the planet via Designers Against AIDS.

“From the considerable amount of time I’ve spent in the Philippines – not just to visit my family but also to work on various initiatives through the Apl Foundation – I’ve seen first hand the devastation that the lack of AIDS awareness has had on the global nation. World AIDS Day is a fantastic opportunity for us to get together to promote health consciousness, not just as citizens of the world but as human beings.”

Katy Perry And Friends Design T-Shirts For AIDS

Fri, 08 May 2009 15:00:00 -0000

Singer Katy Perry has joined with Cyndi Lauper, Yoko Ono and hip hop group N.E.R.D. to design T-shirts as part of H&M’s second Fashion Against AIDS collection.

H&M, a chain of 1,500 stores spread across 28 countries, has joined together with Designers Against AIDS to launch Fashion Against AIDS, a clothing collection for men and women, designed to draw attention to HIV/AIDS and increase awareness of the disease. Last year’s campaign featured Timbaland, Good Charlotte, Rihanna, and Ziggy Marley who created a special selection of T-shirts, tank tops, and hooded sweatshirts that use color and style to highlight the cause.

For the 2009 Fashion Against AIDS collection, the message is loud and clear with bold language and vibrant colors. Roisin Murphy’s t-shirt is bold with the phrase “Protection is power” on the front and back of a men’s t-shirt and a women’s bodysuit. N.E.R.D uses a clever graphic to shout “use your brain” on vibrant tank tops and t-shirts for both men and women. Estelle designed a tank top with the slogan “LIFE IS TOO SHORT – HAVE SEX BE SAFE” next to a sassy silhouette of an empowered woman. Katy Perry’s clever safe sex message, “WHAT’S ON THE OUTSIDE IS WHAT COUNTS,” appears on both a bodysuit and a cap-sleeved shirt. In a nostalgic nod to her roots, “GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE SAFE SEX” is scribbled in pink lipstick on Cyndi Lauper’s t-shirt. Others include Yoko Ono’s design of the words “IMAGINE PEACE” in multiple languages and Robyn’s feisty “PROTECT YOUR BODY.”

Dita von Teese, an avid supporter of AIDS causes, created an alluring image of her iconic red lips and arched brow on a cute cap-sleeved T: “It is really great that H&M continues to educate its customers and the world about HIV/AIDS with their campaign Fashion Against AIDS. We must never give up the fight against this horrible disease and we must constantly remind each other not to become apathetic or careless. The war on HIV/AIDS must continue.”

25% of the sales price will be donated to HIV/AIDS prevention projects of Designers against AIDS, UNFPA, MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation and YouthAIDS.

This year’s T-shirt designs will hit stores on May 28.

Interview: Diane Pernet Talks To Look To The Stars

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0000

Written by Regina Walton

Seoul Fashion Week S/S 09 took place at the end of October this year.

Among the fashion experts to attend was Diane Pernet. A photographer and filmmaker, in the 80s and 90s Pernet was also a fashion designer for her own fashion line in New York City. That line received attention from magazines like Vogue and was worn by supermodels such as Janice Dickerson. In the mid-1990s she moved to Paris and has lived there ever since.

Pernet has been a fashion journalist and critic for heavy weights such as Elle.com and VogueParis.com. She is an associate editor for Zoo Magazine and is also a consultant and editor for the biggest online fashion network, Igons.com. She is also works as a curator and fashion and photo scout for the d’Hyeres festival. Most important, she is probably best known for having one of the most influential websites on fashion, A Shaded View on Fashion (ASVOF). In addition to ASVOF she has a film project which brings together her two loves: fashion and film.

One distinctive thing about Diane is her look. She is someone who knows the fashion industry from many angles, but interestingly her look is static. She’s known for wearing her dark hair in a towering pompadour with a black veil, black cat eye shades, and layers of black clothing. This constant look stands in stark contrast to her pale white skin and dramatic rogue lips.

I had a chance to sit down with her and ask her a few questions about her charity and fundraising work.

She started off by telling me that she’d just participated in an online auction with Lee Cooper (a British Denim company). The company asked Pernet to draw upon her talent and experience as a fashion designer, and they requested that she design an outfit that would be auctioned off on eBay.

She added that Lee Cooper is also is involved with Designers Against AIDS (DAA), a non-profit that lists her in their Hall of Fame. DAA’s mission is “to raise AIDS Awareness in the international media and towards the general public, more specifically towards young people in the industrialized countries.” They do this by “asking famous and emerging fashion designers, musicians, artists and other celebrities to create designs that we then print on items such as T-shirts, sweaters, bags, hoodies, condom boxes, ringbinders, etc.”

Diane also told me about the Le Bal d’Amour. She said it’s similar to The Love Ball that is held in New York City. When she first moved to Paris in the mid-90s she worked full time without pay for six months to help put together an event for Le Bal d’Amour, which was “a huge thing.” She said that the goal was to raise money for people who were actually suffering from AIDS and to distribute those funds directly to AIDS organizations that would get help “to the people who really needed it.”

She ended our discussion on her charity and non-profit work with this quote, “I have to say nothing feels better than helping other people. I do it in my own way with fashion, but also with causes…”

Stars Support Fashion Against AIDS

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:14:07 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A major worldwide fashion store and a charity set up by artists and fashion designers have initiated a campaign to help raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS projects.

H&M, a chain of 1,500 stores spread across 28 countries, has joined together with Designers Against AIDS to launch Fashion Against AIDS, a clothing collection for men and women, designed to draw attention to HIV/AIDS and increase awareness of the disease. Musicians, designers and artists such as Timbaland, Good Charlotte, Jade Jagger, and Ziggy Marley have collaborated to create a special selection of T-shirts, tank tops, and hooded sweatshirts that use color and style to highlight the cause.

“Supporting the Fashion Against AIDS campaign was a great way to encourage my fans to join me in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” said singer Rihanna, who is also taking part in the initiative. “I love that H&M is providing a fashionable and easy way for young people all over the world to get involved in this worthy cause.”

All of the items in the collection – expected to hit shelves in February – will cost between $15 and $40, and 25% of the proceeds will go to HIV/AIDS prevention projects around the world, including those administered by YouthAIDS. Each article is made from 100% organic cotton, and carries the label “This might be the most important piece of clothing you’ve ever laid your hands on”.

“It’s a collection that’s rich in color, with considerable commitment going into every garment,” said Margareta van den Bosch, H&M Head of Design. “The artists have created personal prints with a strong sense of style.”

HIV/AIDS has reached epidemic levels in many parts of the world, and both the artists and H&M hope the Fashion Against AIDS campaign will highlight the fact that no one is safe from the disease, and the message will inspire young people to be safe.

“Fifty per cent of the people newly infected with HIV are aged between 15 and 24,” said Ninette Murk, founder of Designers Against AIDS. “There’s an urgent need to do something in this target group. By combining fashion with music in this way we hope to get these young people to ‘stop and think’, as [fashion designer] Katharine Hamnett puts it on one of the garments in the collection.”

Other artists and designers to take part in the initiative include Rufus Wainwright, The Cardigans, My Chemical Romance, Tiga, and Henrik Vibskov. More information can be found at www.hm.com.

Look To The Stars News: Designers Against AIDS

Black Eyed Peas Singer Speaks About World AIDS Day

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