The International Trade Centre (ITC) Ethical Fashion Initiative, invited Stella Jean to participate in an event marking the 50th anniversary of ITC in Geneva on 12 June 2014.
The partnership between Stella Jean and ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative is growing and the designer is expanding this work to other countries. The fashion show was a world preview of results of this work, including a new jewellery line developed in her home country of Haiti and cross-African (Mali and Kenya) luxury handbags. Stella Jean recently travelled to Haiti where she developed a jewellery collection using hand-painted recycled metal drums (or “fer battu” in French). The bags were also a first time feature and represent a cross-Africa effort as they are manufactured in Kenya with bogolan fabric from Mali and hand-woven cotton from Burkina Faso.
Arancha González, ITC’s Executive Director stated ‘What we are bringing today is a story. This is a story about how fashion can be a vehicle out of poverty. It is a demonstration of the power of trade. It is a demonstration of how trade works for development. But more importantly today, it is a demonstration of how trade works for women’s economic freedom.’
Music Credit: “Echoes of Voices” by Andrew Marcson
Runway Photo credit: Luca Sorrentino
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