Thank you to Beauty for Freedom, Celestino Couture, and STEPS to End Family Violence.

 

Non-profit Beauty for Freedom (BFF) develops creative workshops that engage the industries of Beauty, Art, and Fashion as powerful allies in the fight to end human trafficking and sexual violence. In 2019 for BFF’s fourth year supporting Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Denim Day NYC, they partnered with Celestino Couture and design students from STEPS to End Family Violence’s RAPP (Relationship Abuse Prevention Program) school partner, The High School of Fashion Industries. Together they created a campaign promoting youth activism through fashion.

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The teen designers were mentored by Celestino Couture to create a capsule collection using recycled denim that was hand-painted by survivors of labor trafficking and at-risk youth supported by Challenging Heights, a survivor-led organization battling the crisis of child labor trafficking in Ghana, West Africa and donated by The Rialto Jean Project. The collection was featured in L’Officiel Magazine and included hand stitched gowns and a cape worn by influencers including Indya Moore, Zazie Beetz, Wade Davis, Khrystyana, and NYC Councilmember Carlina Rivera. 

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