Irina Shayk, Ashley Graham And Hailey Bieber To Star In Online Fundraising Catwalk Event

Carine Roitfeld is staging the world's first online celebrity catwalk show later this week, to raise money towards the fight against Covid-19.

The fashion editor is renowned for her star-studded fundraisers, such as the annual Cinema Against AIDs amfAR gala that takes place during the Cannes Film Festival every year. Last June, Roitfeld also staged the first CR Runway event in Florence, featuring 102 looks modelled by everyone from the Hadid sisters to Doutzen Kroes. This virtual show will mark the second CR Runway event.

The 30-minute special, titled 'Fashion Unites', will be directed by Fabien Constant and hosted by Derek Blasberg. Naturally, it will boast a high-profile model line-up featuring some of the biggest names in the business, including Irina Shayk, Ashley Graham, Karlie Kloss, Hailey Bieber, Joan Smalls, Kim Kardashian West and Adriana Lima.

The models will wear creations from their personal wardrobes, styled remotely by Roitfeld and her team.

“As we face times of great uncertainty, our support for one another is more important than ever," says Roitfeld. "Embracing fashion as the creative expression through which to support the health and safety of our global communities, we hope this show can offer a small moment of hope, inspiration, and uplifting connection. A modest contribution as our world unites to collectively weather the storm of this pandemic together."

The show will also feature "exclusive tributes and messages of hope and gratitude by designers and contributors for the real-life heroes who risk their lives fighting the pandemic on the front lines every day", explained a press release. Designers who have signed up to be involved include Maria Grazia Chiuri, Alexander Wang, Diane von Furstenberg and Virgil Abloh.

The amfAR foundation for AIDs research, with which Roitfeld has a long-standing relationship, recently created the amfAR Fund to Fight Covid-19 - a global initiative to assist in providing state-of-the-art resources and top infectious disease experts to support the development of treatments for the coronavirus.

Everyone involved in the Fashion Unites show has contributed their time pro-bono to the global non-profit event, while Roitfeld and several participating creatives have also made personal donations to kick-start the initiative.

'Fashion Unites' will be streamed worldwide on Friday 1 May via YouTube. For more information, visit amfar.org/covid19.

This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR UK.

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