Channeling Change Through Fashion

The mostly female crowd at the third Annual First Ladies and Fashion 4 Development luncheon seemed to all have three things in common: An interest in fashion, a passion for international and economic reform issues and Evie Evangelou.

"Evie is a powerhouse," Tina Brown said on Thursday afternoon at the Pierre after posing with the F4D founder, along with Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani, the organization's global ambassador. "She came at me and said she'd like to do this and I think it's a great idea to harness the first ladies when they're here."

The third year the luncheon has been held during the United Nations General Assembly, Ms. Evangelou said the number of prominent attendees, from fashion designers to actual First Ladies, has grown. This year, more than 30 first ladies were in attendance, as well as designers Donna Karan and Reem Acra.

The first lady of Iceland, Dorrit Moussaieff, attends every year. "Evie called and asked if I could help her and I do think anything that can help women and children, especially in countries that are developing, must be commended, and she needs all the help that she can get," said Ms. Moussaieff, who added that she hopes to see a focus on designers in "conflict areas" such as Palestine and Syria.

For others, such as Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia, dressed head to toe in designer duds from Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford and Cartier, it was their first time in attendance.

Ms. Evangelou has high hopes for the event. "The bigger vision is we're using fashion to make changes in water and sanitation, to make changes in health care. We'll capture the attention to make these goals happen. We're a global platform that supports all eight of the United Nations millennium development goals utilizing fashion as the voice."

Channeling change through fashion is a goal that Ms. Brown also believes will work with women. "Fashion speaks to women where they live, there's not a person—high, low, poor, rich—who is not interested in looking good when they get out of bed in the morning and as a result, you know fashion focuses the mind for women," she said.

Livia Firth, philanthropist, wife of actor Colin Firth, and another honoree along with Ms. Brown at the sit down dinner and fashion show featuring designers from across the globe, feels the same way.

"Putting fashion and development together and reaping the ethical effects of fashion is an incredible thing," she said, before sitting down to lunch, in a room packed bodyguards with earpieces, where a video was played between courses of Anna Wintour and Tom Ford lauding her for her philanthropic efforts with the Green Carpet Challenge. "I've been working with [the organization] for two years. It's…amazing."