Dare to Wear Love Brings Nonprofit Fundraising and Awareness to the Fashion Runway in Toronto

LG Fashion Week in Toronto is quickly approaching and thanks to the nonprofit fundraising runway show of Dare to Wear Love, there will be far more than glitz and glamour on display. Dare to Wear Love is the brain child of Jim Searle and Chris Tyrell, designers and founders of Hoax Couture for the purpose of raising funds and awareness for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF). The fashion show takes place Friday March 16th, 2012 at 7:30 pm.

Images courtesy of Dare to Wear Love and Stephen Lewis Foundation

Canadian politician Stephen Lewis served as the Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan from June 2001 until the end of 2006. Throughout that time he was deeply affected by the devastation caused by the AIDS pandemic in Africa. He was touched by the plight of orphaned children. Currently there are some 14 million children who have lost one or both parents to AIDS in Africa. These children are often left to the care of their grandmothers or a young sibling as the AIDS pandemic has essentially wiped out an entire generation in Africa. It was because of his time spent as part of the UN’s Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS that caused Lewis to form the SLF.

“(SLF) supports community-level organizations that are turning the tide of HIV/AIDS in Africa by providing care and support to women, orphans, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS. Since 2003, [they] have funded more than 700 initiatives with 300 community-based organizations in the 15 African countries hardest hit by the pandemic.” These community based grassroots efforts happen in an organic manner, as the ideas and projects are generated by community members, and are not imposed by the groups who are aiding them. The SLF facilitates these projects and before they fund a project they send in Field Representatives to visit and assess the group’s connection to the community.

Tyrell, when interviewed on Cityline with Tracy Moore, said he was touched by the fact that SLF helped grandmothers and orphans because he is an orphan who was raised by his grandmother.

Twenty-six Canadian designers ranging from the well known to the not-yet-well-known Seneca College design student are participating in the fashion show this season. The designers participating in the show include: Wayne Clark, Brian Bailey, Adrian Wu, David Dixon, Pat McDonagh, Lucian Matis and Evan Biddell, just to name a few. Each designer was given six yards of African fabric for their design and they could use as much or as little as they wanted in the garment.

Tyrell spoke about the fabric saying “Cloths in Africa have specific messages woven into their designs. Some might be commemorative of specific people or histories. Others use symbolism around women’s rights, family planning or other contemporary issues. The proceeds are going to projects on this continent, so we felt it was important to make a connection between the issues and the articles being produced.”

Celebrities including Cityline’s Tracy Moore are walking the runway in support of the SLF. This is an excellent example of the fashion community giving back by using the catwalk to spotlight an important nonprofit fundraising and awareness initiative.

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