If we can provide some positivity to counteract the deafening push notifications hitting your phones these days, let us show you what it looks like when fashion joins the fight.
New York-based ready-to-wear label Proenza Schouler recently added its name to the list of designers doing what they can to support Planned Parenthood. On Tuesday, the brand released a video directed by Harley Weir (who recently shot Stella McCartney's latest socially-sound fashion campaign) and styled by Vogue alum Camilla Nickerson, that features some of today's most prominent industry faces bringing attention to the cause via personal stories and declarations.
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With the repeal-only bill still being debated, no one really knows what the future looks like for the government-funded organization that provides reproductive healthcare for women But, our administration's plans to defund the non-profit for at least a year is scary enough to get people talking (and acting). In an official press release, designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez explained why Planned Parenthood means so much to them and their luxury fashion label. "In recent months, Proenza Schouler has been driven by a need to stand up with organizations that fight for the causes we believe in," they said. "Now more than ever we feel it is important to use our voice and platform to speak out in support of the things we care deeply about. Planned Parenthood means so much to the women who work at our company, and to the community Planned Parenthood serves in New York City and beyond."
The video boasts a laundry list of high-profile personalities: supermodels Stella Tennant and Amber Valletta, musician Grimes, model and intersex activist Hanne Gabby Odiele, transgender model Hari Nef, actress Jemima Kirke, and plus-size model Paloma Elsesser, to name a few. But what they have to say goes far beyond their star status. "I'm not sure that pregnancy changed me," Kirke explained. "But giving birth definitely did." Shortly after, Tennant adds: "It's really important that women have a choice. It's really important that women are in charge of their bodies, and their lives, and their future." These are just a few of the campaign's sentiments on the complexity of femininity, and what it would mean for the government to interfere with how women govern themselves.
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While the spot acts as more of a call to action or PSA as opposed to donating any proceeds of sales to Planned Parenthood, it still serves as a meaningful way for a luxury fashion brand to show its consumers that it's paying attention to what's going on off the runway, too. Shortly after the news broke that the Trump administration was working to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, the CFDA worked with over 40 of its members to participate in the Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood initiative, which raised awareness via T-shirts, pens, and other merchandise. Since then, several retailers and up-and-coming labels have remained dedicated to the fight to save the organization.
Watch the spot in full below, and please, donate.