Noa Kattler Kupetz
Staff Writer
On Sunday, November 7 the third annual Fashion with Compassion event took place. Founded by Celine Yousefzadeh ’11 and Lexie Sokolow ’11 in 2008, the event uses a fashion show as a vehicle to raise money for certain Israeli organizations.
The profits from this year’s show went towards Save a Child’s Heart, a non-profit Israeli organization that provides free heart surgery to children from developing countries.
Sokolow and Yousefzadeh were joined by Deborah Halimi ’12 and a new faculty advisor, Ms. Samantha Robbins.
Nearly five hundred people attended the fashion show, which was held at Stephen S. Wise Temple and not Milken, where it was in years past.
“Just by having so many people at the event and involved, we surpassed our expectations,” Sokolow said.
Aside from the fifty-two Milken students who voluntarily walked the runway, over thirty worked backstage. Preparing for the show was as busy as it had been in the years before, but Sokolow, Yousefzadeh, and Halimi agree that the process has improved.
“We have previous years to compare it to. The work level just grows every year because of our goals and increased expectations,” Yousefzadeh said.
After the success of the last two years, the girls strove to make the show the best that it could be.
“We had different committees which helped people focus and organize,” Halimi said.
The girls decided to plan the event on Big Sunday, hoping to increase the audience and raise awareness amongst more than just the Milken community.
Another addition to the fashion show was its sponsors. Backed by Westfield, American Apparel, Teen VOGUE, OPI, and more, the event increased its publicity from the previous years.
Over twenty vendors sold products ranging from clothing to candy before and after the show.
This year’s show provided a sense of closure to Sokolow and Yousefzadeh, who will be graduating this June.
“We’re happy to pass down the torch. It’s a relieving feeling, but it’s also sad that it’s all gone after months of preparation and anticipation,” Sokolow said.
Next year, Halimi will co-chair the event with Shani Gilboa ’12 and Alexandra Torkan ’13.
“It feels good knowing that we’ve established something that the community has embraced. It’s a good feeling knowing that so many people were involved,” Yousefzadeh said.
