NYFW Fall 2015: American Heart Association Red Dress Collection
Fashion designers and celebs unite to Go Red For Women
From the LifeMinute Team
February 14, 2015
Over 20 celebrities walked the runway in exclusive red dresses from America's elite designers to support the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women national campaign to raise awareness about women's #1 health threat: heart disease.
Actress and TV Personality Rosie O'Donnell opened the show with a clip from her upcoming HBO special "A Heartfelt Stand Up", playfully educating the audience on what every man and woman needs to know about heart disease symptoms, to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music, "Arm pain or chest pain or pain in your shoulders, pain in your neck or either one of your boulders. If you are sweating like never before, call 9-1-1, get your ass out the door!"
While the mood at the show was light, heart disease is serious, killing 1 in 3 women. The Red Dress has become the uniting symbol in the American Heart Association's fight against heart disease in women and its campaign to promote women's heart health.
Actress Donna Mills, in a Mark Zunino red dress, says, "It's an honor to be part of this show, and I'm happy to be helping a cause like this." It was a sentiment expressed by many at the event, including Singer-Songwriter Alexa Ray Joel who walked the runway in Tamara Mellon, "It's really important for women to be aware of their risk factors. It's not just a man's disease, and there's this perception that it's primarily men that suffer from heart-related health issues, and it isn't."
Orange is the New Black's Laverne Cox in Donna Karan, NBC's Hoda Kotb in Romona Keveza, Actress Cynthia Bailey in Macy's Philadelphia Incubator Designer and TV Personality Kristin Cavallari in Monique Lhuillier were among the other stars on the catwalk for a cause. Says Correspondent Catt Sadler, in red Oscar de la Renta, "This raises so much awareness, and we all need to make noise to do our part. Heart disease and strokes kill 1 in 3 women. The statistics are startling."
For TV Personality Star Jones, the cause is personal. "I am walking on behalf of all survivors. This is the 5th anniversary of my successful open heart surgery," shares Jones, "I'm a national volunteer for the American Heart Association, I have been for the last four years. This is not just an evening of fashion and Red for me; this is really my purpose in life, to help eradicate heart disease in America."
Perhaps Actress Barbara Eden, who did her signature I Dream of Jeannie head nod on the runway, summed up the evening's purpose the best, simply saying, "Go for the red. It's for women's hearts."
To learn more about The American Heart Association's campaign for women's heart health, visit GoRedForWomen.org.