THE FASHION PHILANTHROPIST

Blythe Hill, CEO and founder of the Dressember Foundation Platform Classy Raised £1.1million*

Dressember started life as a simple style challenge – wear a dress every day in December and blog about it. So simple, in fact, it took off, and the woman behind it, Blythe Hill, saw the opportunity to combine her two passions: fashion and philanthropy. Inspired by Movember, the moustache-growing challenge that supports a variety of male health issues, she turned Dressember into a challenge that raised money for charities that support victims of human trafficking. The response was huge, with participation doubling every year since its inception in 2013. Dressember now partners with anti-trafficking organisations International Justice Mission and A21 Campaign to fund rescue operations and survivors’ recovery. “I didn’t [take] the conventional path to engage on this issue,” Hill says. “What I created was a fun way to have a significant impact.”

SECRET TO SUCCESS Build partnerships with like-minded organisations to expand your impact. Hill partners with a company each year to create a Dressember dress collection, sewn by Nepalese women rescued from sex trafficking. They get fair wages, and donors get a new outfit for their challenge.