Living Blue, a Bangladeshi dyeing house has made designer Zac Posen's custom made gown for the legendary model, actor, and philanthropist Iman Abdulmajid.
At the beginning of this year, Iman became the first global advocate for CARE, the international social injustice and poverty-fighting organization founded in 1945 in the aftermath of World War II.
The Somali-born model believes in story-telling and helping girls and women from underprivileged background across the world.
Therefore, she chose Living Blue to custom make her dream gown for CARE’s Impact Awards.
Iman said: "While researching CARE’s global programs, I discovered Living Blue, an artisan farmers’ collective from Bangladesh. The project took my breath away."
"This project enables Bangladeshi women to become the breadwinners for their families, and I assure that this practise should be continued," she added.
Thank you to our Honorary Co-Chairs, @Zac_Posen and @The_Real_IMAN! https://t.co/bsEwC3vHqr #FightWithCARE pic.twitter.com/TE3pnQHWO7
— CARE (care.org) (@CARE) November 23, 2019
Iman also said that this organization works in a community that never hired these women before. However, she hoped that her involvement would acknowledge these poor women's hard work.
“My intention is that I find them $350,000 in funds so that in two years, Living Blue can hire 15,000 farmers and artisans to sustain 75,000 people.
"They will also be able to help their kids go to school. I do not want them to stay as a charitable partner,” Iman furthered.
The famous model said she wanted to ensure this underprivileged community's empowerment.
Thank you for your support! Love & Gratitude RT @voguemagazine: .@The_Real_IMAN and designer @zac_posen share the story behind Iman's dream gown. https://t.co/uJ7NjaeOGR
— Iman Abdulmajid (@The_Real_IMAN) November 22, 2019
“I want them to be independent. What they are creating is really valuable and beautiful. This little dress is the genesis of the journey through which I am trying to help this community,” she said.
While speaking about the fine quality work by Living Blue, Zac said: “When I saw the fabric made by the dyeing house, it was so incredibly fine and beautiful.”
Their work seemed to be a living material instead of a scientific reaction, he added.
Living Blue
Living Blue is a design house, which mainly produces indigo and handmade couture textiles, for home and abroad.
It produces natural dyes across a whole spectrum of colours, including red dyes made with pomegranates.
In 2005, it started as a governance project of CARE Bangladesh in order to empower and train women, and men as natural leaders.
Soon they transformed themselves as a dyeing house by incorporating local skills of quilting, Kantha stitching, as well as the Japanese art of resist stitching or shibori.
Being the largest producer of the high quality, natural indigo in Bangladesh, Living Blue has 3000 indigo farmers and over 200 artisans and dyers as its members, spread throughout hundreds of villages in northern Bangladesh.