Donna Karan Says No to Gun Violence
Donna Karan, Michael Bloomberg, and Lise Evans. Photo: Getty Images
Fashion has a reputation for frivolity, but when the industry decides to come together for a good cause, there is no stopping what it can do. Case in point, Tuesday night in NYC, when Donna Karan hosted hundreds of people to her Urban Zen store/studio to celebrate the launch of the Everytown x Urban Zen NOT ONE MORE bracelet. The designer created the bracelet in conjunction with the Haiti Artisan Project, which she formed shortly after the earthquake in 2011. “Create, collaborate, communicate, that’s what we do,” said Karan. “Look at the wonderful people that came here. It’s extraordinary.”
Nearly everyone in attendance was wearing the strappy leather accessory, which retails for $30 with proceeds going to Everytown’s mission of ending gun violence and building safer communities. Those in attendance included former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg—who is the co-founder behind Everytown—as well as former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, artist Jeff Koons, and chef Marcus Samuelsson. Richard Martinez, who delivered the organization’s rallying cry of “not one more” following the death of his son Christopher at the shooting at U.C. Santa Barbara last year, also wore a stack of colorful bracelets that had been given to him by family members of various organizations working toward social justice causes. “This represents to me kind of a culmination of where we’re at right now,” he told Yahoo Style. “That we’ve made real progress in the past year.”
The Everytown x Urban Zen Not One More bracelets.
“My brother had been reading the book Columbine by Dave Cullen, and he said to me, if you don’t talk about Christopher, then he’s going to be just another number and it will be all about the shooter, and we can’t have that,” he continued. “We’re private people. I never thought about doing this. I mean, I’ve given speeches but not under turmoil. I’m not shy about that or talking to people that I don’t know. But talking about Christopher is a really hard thing.”
When pointed out that there was a powerful group of New Yorkers supporting the evening, Martinez added, “I don’t know who they are. It doesn’t mean anything to me. I don’t care why they’re here as long as they do something when they leave.”
Karan was certainly making the efforts her mission. “Dressing and addressing! I think how perfect it is for me to be able to design something that could go on every single person and bring attention to Not One More,” she said. “I wish I could have acted sooner.”
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