Fashion 4 Development will honor the late Franca Sozzani, former editor in chief of Vogue Italia and Goodwill Ambassador for F4D from 2011 to 2016, at the seventh annual official First Ladies Luncheon. The event will take place on Sept. 19 during the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly at the Pierre Hotel in New York.
Sozzani’s son, Francesco Carozzini, will present the first Franca Sozzani Award to Precious Moloi-Motsepe, founder of African Fashion International and pioneer of African luxury fashion initiatives who will take on the role of Goodwill Ambassador for the African region to continue Sozzani’s work.
Hosted by Evie Evangelou, founder of F4D, the luncheon will gather first ladies, fashion industry professionals, influencers and diplomats from more than 100 nations to celebrate the progress made to drive positive social change worldwide in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
This year’s F4D Award will be presented to Iman for her work with The Children’s Defense Fund, Action Against Hunger and the Raise Hope for Congo campaign, which aims to build a permanent and diverse constituency of activists who advocate for protection and empowerment of Congolese women and girls. She will also be honored for her support toward Dr. Hawa Abdi Foundation, whose mission it is to create access to basic human rights in Somali through building sustainable institutions in health care, education, agriculture and social entrepreneurship.
Afef Jnifen, L’Oréal Paris Ambassador and advocate for civil and human rights, will be part of the tribute to Sozzani, and will discuss her commitment to F4D as the newly appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the Middle East.
Beatrice Borromeo Casiraghi, journalist and F4D’s special envoy for human rights and spouse of Pierre Casiraghi, son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, will present a trailer of her documentary which aims to raise awareness of human and civil rights issues.
The first part of the event will showcase an exhibition of African fashion and during the ceremony the attendees will view a runway show of Elie Saab’s fall 2017 ready-to-wear collection.
Others who will be awarded are Sybil Yurman, cofounder of the David Yurman Co. and philanthropist, who will receive the Women’s Champion Award, and Simone Cipriani, founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, will receive the League of Gentlemen Award.
F4D is a private sector global platform founded in January 2011 in support of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and “Every Woman, Every Child,” the UN initiative spearheaded by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon. It promotes positive social change with initiatives in more than 20 countries.
Source: www.wwd.com