Diana Von Furstenberg looks to help youth in El Salvador. Image credit: DVF.
U.S. fashion label Diane von Furstenberg is undertaking a mission to help at-risk youth in El Salvador through its spring collection.
Sequence in a company based in El Salvador that is for profit, but focuses on taking in young troubled men and women as employees, teaching them how to embroider, bead and screen print and training them on computer design skills. DVF is collaborating with the organization for a series of accessories.
Fashion and giving
As part of DVF’s 2018 spring collection, Sequence will be working on a variety of belts, bags and jewelry for the brand.
The goal of the Sequence mission is to dramatically reduce the violence in the streets of El Salvador, particularly with young citizens.
"This isn't about just creating fashion pieces,” said Ariela Suster, founder of Sequence. “It's also about personal transformation, about thinking of ways to impact communities and change lives through these products and through this art."
Within a video to celebrate the collaboration, Ms. Suster revealed the company focuses on employing young men with women leaders.
For the DVF + Sequence project, Sequence employees designed bag straps, bag charms, belts, earrings and necklaces.
The style of the products is based on the home décor style of El Salvador. Using a technique a lot like hair braiding, the pieces resemble the knots of hammocks.
DVF + Sequence Collection. Image credit: DVF.
DVF also recently hosted a four-day event at its headquarters in New York for a series of discussions about women’s empowerment, as it continues to make a difference where it can.
As the #MeToo movement continues to grow and more scrutiny is placed on the ways that women are treated in society, DVF is hoping that this event gives women a positive example of what it means to have feminine leadership. The four-day event included panels, forums and open discussions meant to explore the idea of what having women in charge can do for the world (see more).