With 1960s Sizzle, Macy’s Fights AIDS
Just 24 hours after Fashion’s Night Out, another rollicking fashion party was produced in Los Angeles.
Macy’s Passport Presents Glamorama took the stage of the ornate Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 7. The event celebrated the 30th anniversary of the retailer’s music and fashion revue for a cause. Since the Reagan administration, it has raised funds for nonprofits that care for those living with HIV/AIDS, such as AIDS Project Los Angeles and Project Angel Food. On Sept. 14, a Glamorama show is being produced in San Francisco.
For the past three decades, Macy’s has raised $41 million for these nonprofits, said Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s Inc.’s chairman, president and chief executive officer.He remembered how this big event grew from small beginnings. It started in a Macy’s cafeteria when a group of employees brainstormed on producing a fashion show as a means to fight the disease.Since then, the late movie icon Elizabeth Taylor became one of Glamorama’s ambassadors, and some of the music business’s chart-topping bands and Macy’s designers presented their latest works to celebrate those researching a cure for AIDS as well as those caring for people living with AIDS, said Sharon Stone, the Oscar-nominated actress and activist for Glamorama.
“We are at the beginning of the end of the AIDS crisis,” Stone told the crowd. “We need your continued goodwill and your continued effort.”
The theme of the 2012 event was “The British Invasion: The Music Then. The Fashion Now!”Songs by British Invasion bands The Beatles and The Rolling Stones provided the soundtrack for the evening, and, naturally, music was important to the show. Performing to adoring crowds were musicians Robin Thicke, Karmin and Megan & Liz.
The crowd got a preview of capsule collection Nicole Richie for Impulse. The line, only available at Macy’s, features bohemian styles with retro prints, as well as maxi dresses and asymmetrical skirts. Nicole Richie made an appearance at the event, as did Sean Combs, a.k.a. Diddy, the owner and inspiration of the Sean John brand.
The latest looks from labels Tommy Hilfiger, Walter Baker, Tallia Orange, Material Girl, Bar III, Rachel Rachel Roy, Calvin Klein and Diesel also took the stage. After the Glamorama, Macy’s produced a British Invasion–themed after-party at the California Market Center, where pub food and tandoori dishes were served.—Andrew Asch
