ICanServe’s annual fashion show focuses on ‘why we fight’
The desire to make a difference brought six of the country’s fashion designers together to help support ICanServe Foundation’s Fashion Can Serve fashion show to be held on Oct. 8 at Raffles Makati Hotel.
JC Buendia, Ito Curata, Cary Santiago, Vania Romoff, Mia Arcenas and Rosenthal Tee, together with their celebrity muses and models will, showcase their Holiday 2017 collections. The show will also help send this year’s message of hope and raise support for ICanServe Foundation and its advocacy of Awareness and Early Detection of Breast Cancer.
The powerful new message for 2017: “WhyWeFight.”
“Last year’s show had the theme ‘We Don’t Walk Alone,’ and the muses walked with a family member or friend who accompanied them on their journey battling the cancer,” said ICanServe Foundation chair Libet Virata.
“Our theme this year is WhyWeFight and our muses will include mothers and their young child, or grandmothers with a grandchild. We will also have some supporters walk in honor of a family member or friend who passed away,” Virata added.
“Our theme emphasizes the reason why persons diagnosed with breast cancer choose to fight: They do this for their spouses, children and grand- children,” said ICanServe Foundation president Tang Singson.
Message of hope
More than your typical fashion show, Fashion Can Serve aims to deliver a special message of hope with the help of the designers, models and their muses.
“There is life during and after cancer. The mere fact you have breast cancer survivors walking down the ramp is showcasing hope and life in motion!” said Kara Alikpala, ICanServe Foundation founder. Maureen Wroblewitz, the first Filipino woman to win Asia’s Next Top Model, is the face of Fashion Can Serve 2017. Her mother, a former ICanServe volunteer, succumbed to breast cancer, and it’s in her memory that Maureen is supporting the foundation.
This year’s muses include Margie Moran Floirendo, Gloria Diaz, Solenn Heusaff, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Katarina Rodriguez, Tootsy Angara, Wynn Wynn Ong, Techie Velasquez, Mila Camus, Sandy Moran, Sabrina Panlilio and cofounder Crisann Celdran, among others.
With the Philippines having the highest incidence of breast cancer in Southeast Asia and being among the top ten in the world, the advocacy behind Fashion Can Serve is something every Filipino should care about.
“Our show highlights that breast cancer does not equate to a death sentence—it is curable, most especially if caught at an early stage,” said Virata.
Real highlight
Beyond the designers’ beautiful creations, the real highlight of the show is always seeing a cancer survivor walk down the fashion ramp, hearing the audience cheer for her, and seeing the survivor smiling proud and looking triumphant.
This year’s partners for Fashion Can Serve are Philip Stein and Jewelmer. Major sponsors are Security Bank, Del Monte Philippines and Manulife; minor sponsors are Pagcor, Mundo Design+Build, Ideal Vision Center, Mercedes Benz; and media partners are Summit Media, 2nd Avenue, ETC, Philippine Star, The Inquirer Foundation and Manila Bulletin. For information on how to support ICanServe projects and programs, visit www.icanserve foundation.org. For Fashion Can Serve 2017, visit activities.icanservefoundation.org/fashioncanserve; like FashionCanServe on Facebook.