For The Cure: Carson Kressley, Victor Cruz, Bill Nye And More Participate In First Ever Blue Jacket Fashion Show To Benefit The Prostate Cancer Foundation

Mario Cantone, Don Lemon, Ian Mellencamp, Thom Browne, Joseph Abboud, John Varvatos And Others Participate In National Awareness Campaign

Celebrities, media, and influencers gather at Pier 59 Studios as the inaugural Blue Jacket Fashion Show is set to begin

Yesterday, the inaugural Blue Jacket Fashion Show took place at Pier 59 Studios as part of New York Men’s Fashion Week. In partnership with Johnson & Johnson, the Blue Jacket Fashion Show benefited the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), founded by philanthropist and financier Michael Milken.

The Blue Jacket Fashion Show is the kick-off event for The Blue Jacket Initiative founded by Frederick Anderson and Laura Miller (Anderson/Miller) and is a national awareness campaign designed to demystify and create a platform to openly discuss men’s cancer issues. Anderson/ Miller is a marketing and promotion agency based in New York City.

The Show brought together the fashion, entertainment, sports, healthcare, and media worlds around a national platform to openly discuss men’s cancer issues, with an emphasis on prostate cancer. Coinciding with February’s Cancer Prevention Month and New York Men’s Fashion Week, the Show included participation from designers such as John Varvatos, Nick Graham, Joseph Abboud, Nicole Miller, Proper Cloth, Stephen F, Maggie Norris, Theory, Gustavo Moscoso, Craft Atlantic, Rag and Bone, Thom Browne and Haspel who used their creative talents to “reinvent” the traditional blue blazer.

Backstage at Pier59 Studios before the inaugural Blue Jacket Fashion Show, held in partnership with Johnson & Johnson to benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation

Those walking the runway wearing one-of-a-kind blue jackets included models, actors, athletes, members of the media and business titans. Among those who walked are: actor Mario Cantone, musician and model Ian Mellencamp, New York Giants Wide Receiver Victor Cruz, TV personality Carson Kressley, science educator and host of the forthcoming Netflix series Bill Nye Saves the World Bill Nye, New York Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia, New York Post’s Richard Johnson, model Alex Lundqvist, and CNN Anchor Don Lemon. Following the show, all of the specially designed jackets modeled were included in a live auction, with proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, statistics show that prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America. It affects everyone out of eight men at some point in their lifetimes. Every 3.3 minutes a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, and millions of men and their families are fighting this disease on any given day across the globe.

Joaquin Duato, Worldwide Chairman, Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Carson Kressley at the Blue Jacket Fashion Show benefiting the Prostate Cancer Foundation

dressbarn Launches Fall 2016 “More Than A Name” Advertising Campaign

dressbarn, the iconic American retailer with 800+ stores specializing in affordable fashion for women sizes 4 to 24, has revealed their new Fall 2016 brand ad campaign, “More Than A Name.” The moving campaign channels all women and challenges the stereotypes they face every day, a parallel the brand itself experiences by being judged – and underestimated – simply on its name.

dressbarn logo (PRNewsFoto/dressbarn)

dressbarn Fall 2016 Campaign (PRNewsFoto/dressbarn)

dressbarn‘s previous two campaigns focused on shifting perceptions by boldly poking fun at the brand’s name, with high fashion impact. This fall, the company is using the “More Than A Name.” campaign as an opportunity to debut the brand’s heritage, while tearing down labels that are put on women. “Most women have experienced what it’s like to be reduced to stereotypes. Similarly, the name ‘dressbarn’ is only one piece of a much greater brand story, and this is our time to tell it,” said Vice President of Brand Marketing, Stephanie Garbarini.

The brand uses the “more than” sentiment to relate to women in an authentic way. dressbarn celebrates all women and aims to eliminate the terms that often improperly define them — whether it be a mother, a wife, a divorcee, a pretty face, etc. The campaign is rooted in bold statements such as: “more than an age”, “more than a size”, “more than a dress” and “more than a name”. The campaign stars two women who are notably ‘more than’… model, designer and body activist, Ashley Graham, and model, entrepreneur and actress, Veronica Webb. (View behind the scenes video here.)

“I’m a reminder that you should never let anybody tell you ‘no’ or tell you what you’re capable of, because I have achieved and am still achieving what was seemingly impossible,” said Graham. “What the ‘More Than A Name.’ campaign means to me is that women are more than their exterior, women are more than just one thing…We’re all so different and should celebrate that.”

Shot by fashion photographer Sebastian Kim at Pier 59 studios in NYC, the campaign features models Ashley Graham, Veronica Webb, Roxanne Gould, Marquita Pring, Ginta Lapina, and Christina Krause, and is styled by Karen Kaiser. The campaign will span across dressbarn stores and digital channels, as well as billboards, public transportation (including buses and subway take-overs in New York City, Chicago and Boston), digital TV, partnerships and print.

dressbarn expands on the “More Than A Name.” campaign by embracing its meaningful heritage and educating consumers through their digital and in-store channels. As Garbarini explains, “dressbarn was created for women, by a woman, Roslyn S. Jaffe, in 1962. She was inspired to create a one-stop-shop for busy women, giving her fashion and value she couldn’t find anywhere else… but it needed a name. She had a simple solution; the first spoke to women and femininity…dress, the second spoke to value…barn. The simple solution still stands true today and that’s why we are proud of our name, because she gave it to us.“

The imagery features dressbarn’s newest fall sportswear collection, roz&ALI, and dresses featured from the brands designer collaborations, LUXE by Carmen Marc Valvo and BEYOND by Ashley Graham. Product is respectively priced from $30-$70 and will be available in stores and online September through November.