AN ALAÏA SALUTE: Fashion 4 Development is already gearing up for its First Ladies luncheon with a bevy of honorees. Carla Sozzani and the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation are at the top of that list as the recipient of the F4D Development award. She is president of the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation and founder of 10 Corso Como.
The Sept. 24 event will feature a tribute to Azzedine Alaïa and the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation complete with a runway show by Maison Alaïa. Twelve years ago, the company’s founder set out to convert his voluminous archives and holdings through the Association Azzedine Alaïa to become the Azzedine Alaïa Foundation. Sozzani and the late designer’s partner, Christophe Von Weyhe, have been instrumental in protecting his legacy. His collection is housed at 18 rue de la Verrerie in Paris, where he once lived and worked. Exhibitions are planned to share his work with future generations.
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F4D founder Evie Evangelou said of Sozzani, “Carla is an extraordinary human being and she inspires goodness. Her sincere willingness to educate and bring her experience and knowledge to all, especially with fashion students through her work with the Alaïa foundation. It is a golden opportunity for all who have been touched by it.”
Sozzani’s daughter Sara Sozzani Maino, deputy editor in chief of Vogue Italia, will join the F4D’s agent of change group as its newest Goodwill ambassador.
In addition to the Alaïa show, the luncheon will have an exhibition and runway show curated by Haiti’s First Lady Martine Moise featuring 13 Haitian designers. Models in all of the aforementioned shows will be provided by the Responsible Trust for Models, a group working to standardize the ethical treatment of models. This year will also mark the debut of the Beauty 4 Development awards, which will honor four for their socially conscious work.
Held during the 74th United Nations General Assembly, the First Ladies Luncheon will be cohosted by Livia Firth and the Organization of African First Ladies. Actor Aldis Hodge will serve as emcee.
Other honorees include Studio One Eighty Nine’s Abrima Erwiah and Rosario Dawson with the Franca Sozzani award; You Are Not Alone founder Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva with the Leading Lady award; The Arab Fashion Council’s Jacob Abrian with the League of Gentleman award; Burnett New York’s Emily Burnett and Sterling McDavid as co-recipients of the Women’s Champion award, and entrepreneur Anju Rupal with the Beauty 4 Development award. Other Beauty 4 Development awards will go to hairstylist and ethical wig maker Merria Dearman; Pro Tools founder and hairstylist Harry Josh and plastic surgeon and antiaging specialist Rita Rakus.