http://www.fashionwiredaily.com/first_word/fashion/article.weml?id=1168
Cannes: Amnesty International Fashion
Massimo O'Neil
May 28th, 2007 @ 1:04 PM - Cannes
Every major Paris and Milan fashion house with any sort of reputation just fought tooth and nail to dress stars at Cannes Film Festival.
In the struggle to connect with movie divas, John Galliano dressed Eva Green, Roberto Cavalli attired pouting beauty Vahina Giocante and Versace prepared Elodie Bouchez, while Giorgio Armani and Louis Vuitton kitted out a plethora of thesps.
But a young designer from Alaska ended up creating the most reproduced dress in the Continental media seen during this year’s 60th festival, a look with as much a political as aesthetic aim.
Worn by French star Sara Forestier, the dress by Paris-based designer Loanna Haseltine was created to promote Amnesty International’s project Control Arms.
The white silk serge off-the-shoulder dress carries the red Arms Control banner and the Amnesty logo embroidered in white and black. White leather ammo belts criss-cross the silhouette with holstered guns.
The Control Arms campaign calls for an international, legally binding Arms Trade Treaty to ease the suffering caused by irresponsible weapons transfers.
The A-line dress has already featured on national news on Italy’s number one TV channel RAI Uno, Public magazine, French dailies Aujourd’hui and Le Parisian, as well has recording major traffic on Elle.fr and the website of Canal Plus, France’s hippest TV network.
“Cannes red carpet is the ideal moment to use media in a beneficial way to bring attention to a noble cause,” said Forestier, an It Gal actress who won fame with her performance as Lydia in Abdelatif Kechiche’s L’Esquive (Games of Love and Chance) an acclaimed view of North African immigrants and locals clashing in France. Forestier, who won a 2005 César (French Oscar) for L’Esquive was also the Marraine du Prix de la Jeunesse at this year’s Cannes.
For her red carpet appearance, the actress wore the dress by Haseltine, which the Alaskan-born Haseltine designed to raise awareness for the Amnesty campaign.
“Most designers avoid making political statement. But when Sara explained more about Control Arms, I found the idea so timely and worthwhile I was very happy to be able to support it with design. The Control Arms project could save so many lives,” said Haseltine.
