eBay is partnering with top fashion designers on a charity auction to promote economic development in Haiti through job creation and vocational education for Haitian artisans.
One hundred fifty designers, including Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch and Oscar de la Renta, will create customized papier-mâché hearts to be auctioned off on eBay starting today, April 22, until May 2 at ebay.com/fashionforhaiti.
All proceeds of “Fashion for Haiti: One Million Hearts” will benefit the Haitian Artisan Project, an initiative of Karan’s Urban Zen organization. The event is jointly produced by eBay Celebrity, eBay Fashion, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Urban Zen.
To kick-off the auction, eBay hosted a designer and influencer cocktail event in New York City on Thursday, April 11th at the Urban Zen store and studio space. Notable attendees included Hugh Jackman, Kenneth Cole, Vera Wang, Rachel Roy, Olivier Theyskens and Monica Botkier.
“Through ‘Fashion for Haiti: One Million Hearts,’ eBay will serve as a catalyst for positive change in the world by celebrating original design and raising awareness and financial support for this important cause,” said Alan Marks, senior vice president, Global Communications, eBay Inc., who attended the kickoff event in New York.
“This unique sale not only features the creativity and talent of CFDA’s designers but gives the eBay community a chance to bid on a one-of-a-kind gift that gives back,” added Richelle Parham, chief marketing officer of eBay Marketplaces, who also was at the New York event.
eBay is a strong supporter of original design through collaborations such as You Can’t Fake Fashion and the Holiday Collective, and works closely with the CFDA. eBay also enables charitable giving: Since 2003, the eBay community has helped raise over $300 million for more than 22,000 nonprofit organizations by shopping, selling and donating through the eBay Giving Works program.
“By bringing together CFDA’s community of designers to reimagine one-of-a kind hearts and providing a place for them to be sold through the leading charitable giving platform, eBay, we are amplifying the message that we, collectively, believe in improving the lives of the people of Haiti,” Karan said.