The Runway Of Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit organization working towards a future of inclusion, acceptance, and opportunity in the fashion industry for people with disabilities, is thrilled to kick off New York Fashion Week with a one-of-a-kind virtual fashion show on Monday, September 14 beginning at 8 p.m. ET via on24.
The Fashion Revolution event marks the first time Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, Zappos Adaptive, Kohl’s, Target adaptive clothing assortment and Stride Rite’s Journey adaptable sneakers, will grace the same virtual runway, broadening the reach of adaptive clothing in the mainstream industry and celebrating people with disabilities.
Fashion icon and designer Tommy Hilfiger will kick off the festivities and introduce the virtual show with Runway Of Dreams founder and CEO Mindy Scheier. DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen and his wife and musician Lauren Monroe will perform their new song “Big Love”, a powerful anthem for this moment in time. 100% of the proceeds from “Big Love” are donated back to the rapid response fund Project Resiliency. “Big Love” also features the musical talents of Steve Ferrone from TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS and legendary musician Kenny Aronoff.
Celebrating inclusion, applauding innovation, and highlighting change in the fashion industry, the Runway Of Dreams Foundation‘s fashion show will feature over 25 models of all abilities including gold medal snowboarder Brenna Huckaby, activist Grace Strobel, empowerment speaker Brandon Farbstein and author Keah Brown.
Authors and YouTubers Shane Burcaw and Hannah Alyward will serve as the show’s emcees, providing commentary throughout. And Steve Way from Hulu‘s “Ramy” will also provide a comedy set.
“Fashion week has been greatly impacted by the current pandemic,” said Scheier. “However, we believe the show must go on and are so excited to present our annual NYFW show virtually, reaching a global audience! In fact, for the first time ever, Runway Of Dreams has five leading brands participating together in support of the inclusion and acceptance in the fashion industry for people with disabilities!”
The event will also feature Runway By SAP, a machine learning-powered app used to identify an item of clothing. Users can “love” the item, add it to their wish list, buy it, and more.
The Runway Of Dreams virtual fashion show presenting sponsor Tommy Hilfiger exclusively dressed the show’s performers and presenters. Platinum sponsors include Zappos Adaptive, Target, Kohl’s and Stride Rite. Application software leader SAP is the show’s in-kind sponsor.
Photo credit: Carol Oliva
