Red carpet packed with celebrities, designer gowns hanging on racks, tables laden with sparkling Swarovski baubles, Bobbi Brown at the hair and makeup tables... last night's event at Lincoln Center looked similar to many fashion shows.
But the Red Dress Collection is much more than that; it's an opportunity to raise awareness about a very important fact: Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women.
The Red Dress Collection, part of The Heart Truth campaign, has been bringing attention to women's heart health since 2003 in a big way, as the Red Dress has become a national symbol of this issue. The Collection combines celebrity star power, top fashion designers, and high impact partners like Diet Coke, Swarovski and Bobbi Brown to create a fashion show featuring celebs working the runway in designer red gowns, bedecked with all the glamour that Swarovski has to offer.
Last night I had the privilege of attending the 2011 Collection, complete with red carpet and backstage access to talk to the celebrities and partners involved and find out why heart health is such an important issue for them.
Swarovski's head of communications Livia Marotta explained,
Heart health is extremely important for women to take seriously. Most of our customers are women, and we want to help them be heart healthy.
Kerri Kopp, Diet Coke's brand manager echoed the importance of helping women stay healthy and added that Diet Coke is especially focused now on reaching the younger generation of women, since prevention at an early age is the best way to combat heart disease.
The celebrities participating in the show were equally as passionate about raising awareness of heart health. Some are mothers, like Alison Sweeney and Laila Ali, who said they wanted to set a good example for their children. "Moms run the household so they have to be healthy and set the tone for eating habits and exercise," said Ali. Other celebs had been personally touched by heart disease through a family member or close friend being affected.
Check out The Heart Truth's Facebook page for photos of the event. If you spot a red dress you love, you can have the opportunity to bid on certain gowns featured in the show at Clothes Off Our Back through March 4. All proceeds will go to support women's heart health and research.
As The Heart Truth states, "heart disease doesn't care what you wear--it's the number 1 killer of women", underneath all the fashion and glitz of the Red Dress Collection lies a serious issue. This Valentine's Day, truly focus on matters of the heart by sharing the importance of heart health with the women in your life. These beautiful Swarovski crystal pieces can help share the heart healthy message in style. Purchases of this line have enabled Swarovski to donate over $2.1 million in support of women's heart health.
Check out our other posts on gifts that give back: Dressed to Give: "America's Sweetheart" combats cancer with carats and Dressed to Give: Stop Traffick Fashion's jewelry really makes a statement.
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Jean Case at the 2013 Yale Philanthropy Conference
