by First Lady Jill Biden was the surprise keynote speaker Friday morning at the “Fashion for Our Future” march that encouraged voter registration during this election year.
A crowd estimated by organizers at more than 1,000 industry professionals turned out for the 9 am march, including Prabal Gurung, Michael Kors, Cynthia Rowley, Rebecca Moses, Thom Browne, Zac Posen, Tory Burch, Wes Gordon, Stan Herman , Jack McCollough , Lazaro Hernandez and Karlie Kloss, who walked from Herald Square to Bryant Park.
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Organized by the CFDA and Vogue, the march was an opportunity for the industry to promote democracy. Wearing white t-shirts created by Old Navy that said “Fashion for Our Future,” on the front and “Vote” on the back, participants, including children in strollers, carried banners and fog horns, cheering people on. to go out and vote.
After each member of the crowd was individually checked by security upon entering Bryant Park, Biden spoke, along with Thom Browne, chairman of the CFDA, and fashion designer and activist Aurora James.
Biden said that as a young woman, she almost voted for her future husband, Joe Biden, when he first ran for Senate. “It was the 70s, and I was a student at the University of Delaware. And there was a real buzz on campus for this young candidate. His name was Joe Biden. Everyone was voting for her,” she said.
“But I wasn’t so sure. You see, my parents were Republicans. Politics was not part of my life. But we were told that every vote mattered. We believed in making a difference, so Joe only won that election by about 3,000 votes, and it could have easily gone the other way,” said Biden, who was dressed in the official T-shirt of marched under a black Zadig & Voltaire blazer with “Love” spelled out on the back in metal studs, skinny leather pants and gray sneakers.
Years later, on a Saturday evening, she was asked on a date out of the blue. “This is a pretty young crowd. I remember wearing my hair down to the middle of my waist, like most of the men I dated did. But that evening, a handsome senator showed up at my door, but I took one look at his perfect suit and leather loafers, and thought, ‘Thank God, it’s just one date.’ But then we went to dinner and you know, I said to myself, ‘Thank God I voted for him.'”
She told the crowd, “So, your day may not start or stop with politics, but elections are about so much more. They are about the freedom for our children to learn without fear, without hate, without gun violence.”
Referring to this week’s tragic school shooting, Biden said, “We all stand with Georgia in grief and prayer but we must also act. We cannot accept these school shootings as a fact of life [a reference to a comment made by Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance]. We need to ban assault rifles, and I know you care about the freedom to make your own choices. Be who you are, love what you love, freedom, your freedom of creative expression. These freedoms are threatened by court decisions, book bans, shrugs of apathy when people forget the power of voting,” Biden said.
In addition, she noted, “Let’s remember this next president, your next president will probably appoint new Supreme Court justices, your next senators will confirm them, and our children and grandchildren will have to live with it those consequences. But first, you get a decision. Elections are important.”
She encouraged the audience to “vote, vote early, then help others do the same.
Browne noted that this year marks the fourth year of CFDA’s collaboration with “I’m a voter.” He said the first lady recognized the importance of involving everyone in the whole process.
James said she came to this country almost 20 years ago “because I was chasing a dream too. Each one of us here today is woven into the fabric of what makes this country so special, what makes this country so beautiful, so strange, so magical and so fertile.” She said that everyone, whether a garment worker, a bus driver, a lawyer or a shoe designer, contributes to “our collective success”.
“But this fall, that success is on the ballot. We’ve seen it threatened before, and we can’t really go back. For all of us to succeed, we must act on the passion and love for this country. We have to show up and vote because there is one thing that I also know: Not only elections about marches. They are about opportunities to exercise democracy to help shape and empower the people, ideas and policies that empower everyone, not just some,” said James.
She encouraged people to identify five people in their phone contacts and text them and ask them to vote on their plan. And then text five more friends.
During the march, industry executives chatted and caught up with each other on the first day of New York Fashion Week.
“I’m so proud to be out here and encourage everyone to vote, especially on reproductive rights [on the ballot] in my home state of Missouri. We have to do what we can. This is the least we can do,” Kloss said.
“I think this is a very important message to get out,” said Ken Downing, Halston’s creative director. He said he has voted since he got the first chance and he voted in the election of Ronald Reagan against Jimmy Carter. “No, I voted the right way,” he said. “I’ve voted in every state I’ve ever lived in.”
Fern Mallis said, “I’m facing fashion in our future. I think everything is in jeopardy now.” She said she was happy to see the industry coming together on this. “Maybe this is something we can all agree on – get out and vote and have a woman for president,” she said.
Buxton MIdyette, vice president of marketing and promotions for Supima, said, “This is such an important moment. I love that it’s part of the conversation. Fashion is such an important industry in our country and we need to have a voice.”
Julie Gilhart said she plans to get young people on the phone and encourage them to vote.
Ulrich Grimm, Calvin Klein’s former executive vice president, global design, shoes, bags, accessories and home, who is a consultant and teacher at Parsons School of Design, said, “I’ve never seen so many fashion people in front of Macy’s at a. a quarter to eight. It’s a great thing when the community comes together, it’s really strong.”
Tracy Reese flew in from Detroit for the event. When asked what brought her out, she said, “Hope, urgency, advocacy, community and the future. It’s all about policy and community.” She said the CFDA has used so many community events for other causes such as breast cancer and AIDS. “We miss those moments. This is one of those moments,” Reese said. She said she is helping people in Detroit register and then make sure they get to the polls. “Michigan is a critical state and we want to make sure people use their voices,” she said.
Lafayette 148 chief executive officer Deirdre Quinn brought 14 people from her company, as well as Sophie Elgort and Camila Perez. “It’s so exciting. I think there are really important questions. I am sure it will be the most important election of our time,” she said.
Gary Wassner said he came “to support the vote.”
“We cannot be political [at this event]but we need to know the vote. We must have a voice. We’re a huge industry that doesn’t have much of a common voice,” Wassner said.
Rebecca Moses said she is obsessed with voting. She started “Go Go Vote Girls” on Instagram after the Democratic National Convention, where every day she will ask women to write a short letter about why they are voting for Kamala Harris. “I make a portrait of them to document a significant election,” she said. “We’re trying to get people to register and understand the difference between lies and truths. There is so much riding on this election.”
Launch Gallery: Jill Biden, Tory Burch, Michael Kors and More Attend the CFDA Fashion For Our Future March
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