GIVING THANKS: For Giving Tuesday, the nonprofit Dress for Success has rounded up some designer and apparel companies like Bruno Magli, Altuzarra and Project Gravitas to promote its worldwide work.
Committed to helping women reach economic independence, the group has created the #DFSPowerPiece social media campaign and microsite to encourage donations. In addition to the aforementioned three brands, Christian Dior Makeup, Peruvian Connection, Rent the Runway, Sorel and Wander Beauty are involved in this year’s effort. Each is selling an item for the initiative where some of the proceeds will benefit Dress For Success. Magli’s selection is the Gala sued pump, Altuzarra’s pick is the Pencil Skirt and Christian Dior Makeup’s choice is the Ultra Rouge 999 Lipstick.
In years past, the group marked the annual post-Thanksgiving event as “Giving Shoesday,” where people were encouraged to donate shoes to the organization. Chied executive officer Joi Gordon said that this is the first time the group is working with multiple brands that will have dedicated items to help ring up sales for Dress For Success. Some of the participating brands are regular donors to DFS.
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“This will obviously be driven by not only the brands, but also our database and social media. We’re excited about it. You have all these days of shopping — Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday — and Giving Tuesday was traditionally an opportunity for people to pause, reflect about the gifts they have and to start giving to charity. I would say, ‘We want you to do that, but you’re not finished shopping.’” Gordon said. “We don’t want you to pause on shopping because shopping helps to drive the economy. We want to be part of driving the economy so we want these brands to also do well on GivingTuesday. In essence, if they do well, we do great.”
Designer Michael Costello, who has worked with Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears, has styled Dress For Success clients the DFS Power Pieces from the Success Collection for the microsite. This is the first time that he teamed up with DFS. Gordon said, “He didn’t just style them. He cared for them, and I think you see that in how beautiful and joyful the pictures are. That’s because go who he is. He gave us a lot of reason to celebrate that day and he is a big part of our lives right now.”
Cory Baker, chief operating officer of Marquee Brands, which owns Bruno Magli, said, “Asa luxury footwear brand, we know how important it is for women to look and feel their best when they are pursuing their goals.”