Philanthropy teaming makes the grade
Learning Lab Ventures and Net-a-Porter raise $1.4 million at a gala to help educate L.A. children.
On an evening in late January surrounded by a gathering of friends and supporters, Mary Alice Haney, founder and designer of Los Angeles-based clothing brand Haney, stood in the foyer of a Beverly Hills mansion discussing the virtues of the City of Angels. She and about 300 others were attending the Highland Park-based Learning Lab Ventures’ $1,000-aticket winter gala.
“You can be anything in L.A. as long as you work hard and have a vision,” said Haney, the gala’s Philanthropic Vision Award honoree.
A former fashion editor and celebrity stylist who moved to L.A. about two decades ago, the designer created an experiential world for the evening. Models clad in Haney looks lounged in a room in the private Beverly Hills estate.
The January gala raised $1.4 million for Learning Lab Ventures, an intensive after-school education and enrichment program for 300 children and teenagers, ages 518, in Northeast Los Angeles. The nonprofit, founded in 1998, is open every day on a 4-acre campus in Highland Park.
As part of the program, children and teens meet at Learning Lab Ventures’ campus about 3 p.m. during the week and stay until 8 p.m., during which time they participate in art, sports, gardening, and cooking and coding classes as well as work on homework and academic plans. They also have dinner together. For the older children in the program, there are youth leadership teams and a chance to mentor the younger students or volunteer in the community.
On weekends, students participate in classes, and to further their education success rate, volunteers from Caltech oversee an SAT preparation course on the campus.
Ultimately, Learning Lab Ventures supporters are looking to help disrupt generational poverty through this after-school program.
The organization’s January winter gala was hosted by philanthropist and Learning Lab Ventures founder and executive director Rochelle Gores Fredston and online fashion retailer Net-aPorter, which donated a portion of sales last month to the organization.
In addition to the vignettes of Haney’s collection at the gala, guests were treated to a rousing welcome by Jamie Foxx and performances by spoken-word artist Sekou Andrews and Latin hip-hop band Ozomatli.
For London-based Net-aPorter, Los Angeles has become a priority market because of the city’s influence as a cultural hotbed and emerging fashion capital.
“California is an increasingly important market for us,” said Alison Loehnis, president of Net-aPorter. “The city has gone through such an interesting transformation from a cultural perspective.”
For previous charity galas, Gores Fredston has often tied together fashion and philanthropy, and she has continued the effort since taking over and rebranding the Learning Lab this year. This is the first time Net-a-Porter has collaborated with Learning Lab Ventures, but the partnership appears to make sense given the sartorial passion of Gores Fredston, who previously owned the now-shuttered Arcade boutique on Melrose Avenue. (A representative from Learning Lab Ventures declined to disclose Net-a-Porter’s exact financial commitment to the nonprofit but indicated the partnership will be ongoing.)
“It is incredibly exciting to partner with such an innovative brand who truly set the bar for luxury ecommerce,” said Gores Fredston about the Net-a-Porter alliance. “The brand alignment is absolutely perfect.”
In particular, Gores Fredston’s work piqued the interest of Net-aPorter and, according to Loehnis, a common theme for the retailer is working with women, families and children in need. “When we heard what she was doing with Learning Lab,” Loehnis said, “it resonated.”
The alliance also hit home for Haney. Net-a-Porter was the first e-commerce site to launch her collection in 2013. The designer is also inspired by L.A. Her tagline, “Sexy California Glamour,” is captured in the bodycon gowns with strategically placed cutouts and hardware as well as silky jumpsuits and tunics often worn by celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson.
“There’s such a movement of women empowerment right now and so much of it is happening in L.A., which really inspires me as a designer,” Haney said. “I’m just always amazed by the women I’m surrounded by.”