STRONGER TOGETHER

I Am an Immigrant: Fashion’s Biggest Names Issue a United Statement

At the urging of W magazine, Anja Rubik, Diane Von Furstenberg, Grace Coddington and other high-profile members of the fashion industry joined to issue a united front against Donald J. Trump’s immigration ban.

by Katherine Cusumano

On a recent afternoon during New York Fashion Week, between shows and presentations, models, photographers, designers, and stylists took a break to to come together at Chelsea’s Milk Studios. The reason was simple. At the urging of W magazine, they had all gathered to make a united and defiant statement on video, and one by one they faced the camera and said: “I am an immigrant.”

In the aftermath of President Donald J. Trump’s now legally-challenged refugee ban, there’s been an outrage from all corners of the world towards the White House’s apparent anti-immigration policies. Fashion people aren’t as insulated as they might seem; they’ve been equally appalled by the rhetoric stemming from Washington, perhaps because so many members of this colorful community are immigrants themselves, certainly friends, partners, collaborators, admirers of immigrant artists and designers.

In a corner of the studio, W’s creative and fashion director, Edward Enninful, who was born in Ghana and raised in the United Kingdom, held court as designer Joseph Altuzarra, a native Frenchman, arrived on set with a three-month-old puppy for moral support. Diane von Furstenberg, the Belgian-American designer who was a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign, stepped in front of the camera, ad-libbing: “I thought I’d say, ‘I am an immigrant and proud to be,’” she said. Then, she thought of a couplet: “I am an immigrant and America’s been good to me.”

Diane Von Furstenberg, Photo by Biel Parklee

So did Craig McDean, declaring himself proudly from Manchester before someone on set pointed out American audiences might confuse Manchester for Manchester by the Sea, the recently Oscar-nominated Kenneth Lonergan film. McDean laughed. “Manchester, U.K.,” he amended. Enninful pulled British stylist and editor Grace Coddington close to him. “She came here before all of us,” he said. “She’s done a lot for American fashion; a lot of us wouldn’t be here.”

Though designers like Carol Lim and Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony and Kenzo and Kerby Jean-Raymond of Pyer Moss have long taken overt political stances in their work, the Fall 2017 season marks something of a watershed moment for American fashion and activism. Less than a month into his administration, Trump has attacked immigration, reproductive, and LGBTQ rights in an onslaught of executive orders. A wide swath of brands who show at New York Fashion Week addressed the current political climate, whether explicitly or more obliquely.

There were the “Feminist AF” T-shirts gifted to the front row at Jonathan Simkhai; the “Yes, We Should All Be Feminists… (Thank You, Chimamanda and Maria)” shirts that walked the runway at Prabal Gurung, where former Clinton adviser Huma Abedin sat front-row; and the “Make America New York” baseball caps, a riff on Donald Trump’s campaign merch, at Public School. Eckhaus Latta examined the impact of the political climate on the individual, and Proenza Schouler offered an ode to New York in its swan song at New York Fashion Week.

Joseph Altuzarra, Photo by Biel Parklee

“Then you get to Raf Simons and he’s just celebrating being a foreigner in America. That was the most important show of the season, and he just celebrated America,” Enninful said of Simons’s debut at Calvin Klein. “Designers are expressing empathy, joy, everybody is treating the current political climate in their own way. There’s not one way to respond to today. There’s not one way you can celebrate or you can protest.”

Just as the United States—socially, politically, economically—would not exist without immigrants, so, too, is the backbone of the fashion industry informed by the dialogue between cultures and the tireless work of individuals migrating from other countries. “People like me thought America was the best place to be creative, to be free to create, to have the freedom to be who you are,” Enninful said. “I just thought, ‘Let’s do something that shows that we’re all from somewhere else’”—whether participants were immigrants personally, or the descendants of immigrants.

While xenophobia is certainly not a new sentiment in the United States, the specific issues surrounding immigration and the rights of immigrants reached a zenith in late January with Trump’s immigration ban restricting travel from seven, predominantly Muslim countries, including Egypt. It was a proclamation that particularly stunned model Imaan Hammam, the Dutch daughter of an Egyptian father and a Moroccan mother, who was among the first arrivals on set.

Among those who drifted in between shows (both Proenza Schouler and Monse and Oscar de la Renta’s joint shows attracted fashion’s working press that day) were models like Cindy Bruna, Winnie Harlow, Maria Borges, Caroline de Maigret, and Aymeline Valade. There were also photographers, including McDean, Mario Sorrenti, Emma Summerton, and Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. And a cadre of those who bridge the realms of fashion and activism, like Torraine Futurum, Bethann Hardison, Anja Rubik, and Jaharrah Ali, who was born in Brooklyn to Pakistani and Trinidadian parents. She splits her time between modeling with the agency Underwraps, which represents predominantly Muslim models, and working with developmentally disabled children.

Jaharrah Ali, Photo by Biel Parklee

“Being a Muslim model, you know how xenophobic people can be,” Ali said. “By me saying, ‘My name is Jaharrah Ali, and I am an immigrant,’ I’m saying that everything in my life, everything I’ve done in the last 28 years has been important.”

Also stopping by were designers like Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, who is of Cuban descent; Prabal Gurung (Nepal); Thakoon Panichgul (Thailand); and Lim, who is of Korean descent, with her Opening Ceremony and Kenzo design partner Leon, who is of Chinese and Peruvian heritage. Both regularly celebrate their history in their collections, most recently last month with a protest-themed ballet at Lincoln Center.

“We never used to have to talk about this. We’re proud immigrants, but I think there was a government that was excited for us to be here and accepting—and when I say us, I mean every immigrant from every country,” Leon said after he stepped off set. He and Lim both are the children of first-generation immigrants; their families’ Ellis Island portraits inspired their Fall II 2016 show. “It’s not the same anymore,” he added. “More than ever, we have to fight for our rights of being Americans.”

Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin, Photo by Biel Parklee

Even members of the fashion community who weren’t themselves immigrants recognized they were descended from immigrants, like Cuba Tornado Scott, the daughter of an Englishman (and granddaughter of the director Ridley Scott) and a French-Tunisian mother, and Maxwell Osborne of Public School, the son of a Jamaican immigrant. Osborne arrived with design partner Dao-Yi Chow, still wearing his “Make America New York” hat from the previous day’s show.

“New Yorkers consider themselves New Yorkers before they do Americans, and it’s because of the diversity; it’s because of the inclusion,” Chow said. “If you work in fashion—if you’re a person—you have a responsibility for communicating that.”

Behind the Scenes of W’s ‘I Am an Immigrant’ Shoot with Adriana Lima, Anja Rubik, Maria Borges, and More

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee

A behind the scene from W’s I am An Immigrant Video shoot.

Photo by Biel Parklee
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Model Rubik, who has worked in the United States for more than a decade, drew a parallel with her native Poland. She’s become increasingly politically active back home — both in protests on the ground and on social media—as the government encroaches on reproductive rights and anti-immigration sentiment simmers.

“I think fashion is actually not doing enough and not making enough statements,” she added.

Fashion, like social media, is an intimate form of expression; it enters into an individual’s daily life and it gives each of its users a voice. It democratizes who gets a platform, and who sees it. “Fashion has the power to actually create trends—not just trends like, ‘What’s in: blue or red?’ but social statements and social trends. So the fashion world should be even more engaged.”

Let’s be clear: This is just the start.

Watch the video in full below:

Meet the Women Who Are Making the Women’s March on Washington Happen

The executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, Linda Sarsour — a Brooklyn native, mother of three, and now one of the national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington — has been working at the crossroads of civil rights, religious freedom, and racial justice for 15 years. Once an aspiring English teacher, she joined the Arab American Association in its infancy, succeeding founder Basemah Atweh, her mentor, as executive director with Atweh’s death in 2005. “I grew out of the shadow of 9/11,” Sarsour said. “What I’ve seen out of bad always comes good, is that solidarity and unity, particularly amongst communities of color who feel like they’re all impacted by the same system.”

Photo by Driely S, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Tamika D. Mallory’s roots in community organizing and activism extend back to her early childhood: her parents were two of the earliest members of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nearly 30 years ago, an organization for which Mallory went on to act as executive director. But it wasn’t until the death of her son’s father 15 years ago that Mallory found her niche in civil rights and flung herself headlong into activism. Now, she’s one of the four national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington, balancing organizing the march with her day job as a speaker and civil rights advocate. “We’re centering this march by having women to be at the helm of it, to organize it, and to be most of the speakers,” she said. “At the same time I think it’s very important that we never forget the fact that our men, our brothers, our young brothers particularly need this support.”

Photo by Victoria Stevens, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Fashion entrepreneur Bob Bland was nearing the due date of her second daughter, now seven weeks old, when she posted a Facebook event calling for a march on Washington during inauguration weekend. Nine weeks later, she’s one of four national co-chairs at the heart of the Women’s March on Washington — where she’ll march with her infant, her six-year-old daughter, and her 74-year-old mother. “We’re activating people who were previously content with sitting behind their computer and posting on Facebook,” she said.

Photo by Victoria Stevens, Produced by Biel Parklee.

For Carmen Perez, executive director of Harry Belafonte’s Gathering for Justice and one of the four national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington, work permeates everything else: “There’s no real life outside of activism,” she said. Just over two decades ago, Perez’s elder sister was killed — the anniversary of her burial coincides with the march, and with Perez’s birthday — and navigating the justice system motivated her to work with incarcerated young men and women, first as a probation officer and then with The Gathering, operating on the intersection of race, criminal justice, and immigration. “Oftentimes, when I’m in spaces, I am the only Latina and I have to speak a little louder for my community to be part of the conversation,” she said. “The work that I do around racial justice, it’s not just about Latino rights. It’s also about human rights.”

Photo by Hannah Sider, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Californian ShiShi Rose, 27, moved to New York a year ago to develop her activism and writing. She previously worked at a local rape crisis center and assisted in educating therapists and counselors before turning her focus more squarely towards race, first via her Instagram account and then through public speaking engagements and writing. As part of the national committee for the Women’s March on Washington, Rose runs the group’s social media channels, from Instagram (where she has a substantial following) to Facebook. “Women encompass everything,” Rose said. “If you can fight for women’s rights, you can fight for rights across the board.”

Photo by Tyra Mitchell, Produced by Biel Parklee.

A law student-turned-actress-turned-activist, Sarah Sophie Flicker was born in Copenhagen, the great-granddaughter of a Danish prime minister who has been credited with bringing democratic socialism to Denmark. She grew up in California before moving to New York to found the political cabaret Citizens Band, eventually joining the production company Art Not War. “Once you start breaking it all down, you realize the most vulnerable people in any community tend to be women,” she said. “All our issues intersect, and something that may affect me as a white woman will doubly affect a black woman or a Latina woman or an indigenous woman. So when we talk about a women’s movement, we need to be talking about all women.”

Photo by Victoria Stevens, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Vanessa Wruble, a member of the national organizing committee, is the uber-connector of the Women’s March on Washington. She’s also the founder and editor of OkayAfrica, a site connecting culture news from continental Africa with an international audience. It was Wruble who first messaged Bland on Facebook to connect her with the women who would eventually become her co-chairs: “She said, Hey, you know, you need to center women of color in the leadership of this so it can be truly inclusive,’” Bland recalled. Within a day, they were meeting for coffee; now, they’re marching together in one of the largest demonstrations in support of a vast array of causes in United States history.

Photo by Amber Mahoney, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Paola Mendoza, artistic director of the Women’s March on Washington, is a Colombian-American director and writer whose work has focused on immigrant experiences, particularly those of Latina women. “Women have never convened this way in our lifetime,” Mendoza said of the march, “and it’s being led for the first time ever by women of color.”

Photo by Victoria Stevens, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Janaye Ingram, who Michelle Obama once described as an “impressive leader,” is Head of Logistics for the March, in addition to being a consultant for issues like civil, voting, and women’s rights in Washington D.C.

Photo by Kate Warren, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Cassady Fendlay, communications director for the Women’s March on Washington, is a writer and communications strategist whose clients include The Gathering for Justice — the organization helmed by Women’s March national co-chair Carmen Perez. As the spokeswoman for the march, Fendlay is tasked with acting as its mouthpiece, ensuring its message is accurate, unified, and coherent.

Photo by Victoria Stevens, Produced by Biel Parklee.

In addition to being a producer of the march, Ginny Suss is the Vice President of Okayplayer.com and the President and co-founder of OkayAfrica — she does video production for both. Her background in the music industry runs deep, and she’s worked closely with The Roots for the past 13 years, serving as their Tour Manager for some time. She’s also produced large outdoor events like The Roots Picnic, Summerstage, Lincoln Center Out Of Doors, and Celebrate Brooklyn — vital experience for organizing a march of this size.

Photo by Amber Mahoney, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Last year, Nantasha Williams ran for the New York State Assembly as a representative of the 33rd district — which encompasses a region just east of Jamaica, Queens. Though she lost to Democrat Clyde Vanel, she’s putting her organizing skills to good use in the aftermath of the election, working on the logistics team for the march and assisting national co-chair Tamika Mallory.

Photo by Driely S, Produced by Biel Parklee.

When Alyssa Klein isn’t managing the various social media accounts for the Women’s March, she’s writer and Senior Editor at OkayAfrica, the largest online destination for New African music, culture, fashion, art, and politics. Based in both New York City and Johannesburg, Klein’s passion is movies and television, and has made it her profession to highlight creatives of color in both industries. Juggling social media is no easy side project, however. The Women’s March has approximately 80,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter, plus a over 200,000 on Facebook.

Photo by Amber Mahoney, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Shirley Marie Johnson is the March’s head administrator for Tennessee, as well as an author, poet, and singer. Primarily, though, she’s an activist and advocate for those who are victim to domestic violence, a cause that’s not only her focus at the March, but in her day-to-day life through her group Exodus, Inc., which aids those affected by rape, human trafficking, and other abuse.

Photo by Alysse Gafkjen, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Born in Shanghai, Ting Ting Cheng studied human rights at the University of Cape Town — and became an award-winning Fulbright scholar to South Africa — before heading to New York, where she’s now a criminal defense attorney at the Brooklyn Defender Services. All that’s no doubt come in handy for her role as Legal Director of the March.

Photo by Amber Mahoney, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Heidi Solomon is one of the three co-organizers for the Pennsylvania chapter of the Women’s March. Although she doesn’t have a long background in activism, Trump’s election moved her to take action, and she’s helped rally approximately 6,000 people from her home state.

Photo by Lauren Driscoll, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Deborah Harris is a grassroots organizer and feminist self-help author who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and served as a community activist for 10 years in the fields of fashion, healthcare, at risk youth, and supportive women’s relations.

Photo by Heather Gildroy.

As Illinois’ state representative for the Women’s March, Mrinalini Chakraborty has taken the lead in coordinating the Chicago-area charge, organizing bus rides for well over a thousand women and other supporters. She’s also on the National Committee and is a coordinator for all 50 states coming to D.C.. And that’s in addition to her day job: She’s a graduate teaching and research assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago for anthropology, not to mention a student and a dedicated food blogger.

Photo by Alina Tsvor, Produced by Biel Parklee.

After earning her Ph.D in psychology, Dr. Deborah Johnson is now studying social work at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa — and making sure she stands up for both her and her daughter’s rights at the March, which she’s helping lead the way to for other Oklahomans.

Photo by Sarah Roberts, Produced by Biel Parklee.

Renee Singletary is an organizer, mother of two, wife of one, marketing consultant, and certified herbalist living and working in Charleston, South Carolina.

Photo by Lauren Jonas, Produced by Biel Parklee. Hair by Katrina Lawyer, makeup by Elizabeth Desmond.

A yoga instructor, theater graduate, and local organizer, South Carolina native Evvie Harmon has brought her skills and energy to the march as its global co-coordinator alongside Breanne Butler. Together, they facilitate partner marches and local organizers around the world, bringing the whole thing into synergy.

Photo by Kate Warren, Produced by Biel Parklee.
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