All-Star Fashion Show For Haiti

Naomi Campbell's organized fashion show for the benefit of Haiti earthquake victims did not disappoint. Aside from raising funds, Fashion for Relief also featured an all-star casts including supermodels, celebrities, and fashion designers.


Supermodels Helena Christensen, Daphne Guinness, Natasha Poly, Karen Elson, Angela Lindvall, Sasha Pivovarova, Heidi Mount, Selita Ebanks, and Alek Wek all came in to support the cause.

Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson also took a spin in a black gown with gold beading after doing an opening speech about charities.

Celebrities like Kelly Osbourne, Donna Karan, Diane von Furstenberg, Georgina Chapman, Alan Cumming, Maggie Rizer, and even the infamous Chris Brown also walked the runway wearing "To Haiti With Love" shirts.


British supermodel Agyness Deyn who rarely walks the runway anymore took a tumble twice in her Burberry's. But at least we learned a runway trick from her. Agyness Deyn's smile when she tumbled on the catwalk was very lovely so that it lessened the focus on her fall.

Fashion for Relief also made a tribute to Alexander McQueen. Daphne Guinness wore a veil and one-off silver jumpsuit created by the fashion designer while the other supermodels wore designs from Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2010 collection, including the impossibly high heels.

All 92 looks from the show will be sold on Net-a-Porter.com from March 15 that will support CARE's efforts in Haiti. The show's sponsor American Express said that 950 tickets ($100-$150 each) were sold out within three days.

Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Haiti Is Open To Public!

Naomi Campbell continues her charity efforts through her fashion expertise. She now sets the stage for a series of fashion shows to benefit the victims of Haitian earthquake. Unlike typical runway shows, the event will be open to the public.


For the coming New York Fashion Week, Naomi Campbell will be participating with an entourage of famous celebrities and fashion designers at the Bryant Park Tents on February 12 at 7 p.m.

The show will feature looks that the supermodel has personally solicited from fashion designers to be worn by celebrities at the runway event. The dresses will then be auctioned to raise more funds on Net-a-Porter.com starting next month.

Not only will the upcoming fashion show in New York (and another one which will be staged in London) raise funds for Haitians, the event will also provide rare opportunity for the public to see the Bryant Park tents in person. Naomi Campbell adds:

"It's not your typical runway show. Having the public be in the audience is much more fun. They are the ones who are not usually allowed in the shows."

Naomi Campbell has been active with charity fashion shows since 2005 under the name Fashion for Relief. Her efforts have helped raise funds through auctions benefiting tragedies like Hurricane Katrina and the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

"It's the world that I am in. Fashion is what I know and what I have loved for 25 years. It's great that you are seeing actors coming together and singers coming together, but this is our way of coming together and giving a contribution."


For those who are interested to attend, tickets can be bought for $100 or $150 through Ticketmaster.com and will go on sale first to American Express cardholders today, February 5. The ticket sales alone are expected to raise $100,000 for the charities connected to Fashion for Relief.

Bar Refaeli Avoids Israel Duty, Army Calls For Boycott

Israeli military has called for a boycott of products advertised by supermodel and Sports Illustrated star Bar Refaeli. This was after the Jewish bombshell reportedly dodged a compulsory military service in the army and attempted to escape paying Israeli taxes.


Israeli law requires its citizens to render service in the military when they turned 18. Boys are expected to serve for three years while girls for two. But under the same law, married women are excluded.

What Bar Refaeli did in 2004 was to marry a family friend and divorced him shortly afterward.

This has prompted Israeli Major General Avi Zamir, in charge of human resources at the IDF, to urged a group of Tel Aviv students to boycott the products that Bar Refaeli advertises as a form of retaliation:

"She went and married a 37-year-old guy, so what can I do? At the end of the day, she is the one who has to look at herself in the mirror. We are a society that has an army and Bar Refaeli doesn't have to participate in ads for Fox (an Israeli clothing store). And she advertises for Fox then you shouldn't buy her products."

Bar Refaeli's avoidance of the Israeli military service has been done almost six years ago, but it was brought back to the public media when she reportedly filed this month for tax exemption in Israel for the reason that she spends most of her time living and working overseas.

Leading Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharanot has estimated $2 million modeling income for the supermodel in the past two years. If Bar Refaeli remains liable for Israeli tax for 2009, she would have to pay an income tax of 46 percent.

Bar Refaeli has also been unfavorably contrasted by fellow Israeli model and 19-year-old Esti Ginzberg who has not avoided national service and has even traded her swimsuits for military fatigues recently.

Who came in defense of Bar Refaeli as Israel military's new target was her mother. Joining the debate about her daughter's disloyalty to the country, the model's mom told an Israeli website:

"The general is a disgrace. Before they attack Bar they should check the government and see who in government did not join the army."

Petra Nemcova: Life After The Tsunami

Five years ago, Petra Nemcova was one of the world's most famous supermodels with her gorgeous face and body on the spreads of Sports Illustrated, the catalogs of Victoria's Secret lingerie, and the ad campaigns of many women's clothing lines.

When she spent a supposed quiet vacation in Khao Lak resort in Thailand with her main photographer and fiancé, Simon Atlee, the globally-reported 2004 Tsunami struck the place where they were staying. The young model was swept away from her hotel room and suffered a broken pelvis and serious internal injuries. Miraculously, she was able to cling on to the top of a palm tree and managed to hold on for eight hours. She was rescued by local civilians and airlifted to an inland hospital later. Her boyfriend, however, was not found until over two months after the tsunami, his body lying dead on the shores of Sumatra.

With the heart of a survivor, Petra Nemcova returned back to Thailand four months later to visit the Tsunami zone and empathized with the local children who lost their loved ones to the natural calamity.

"They lost their parents or their brothers and sisters. They didn't have anywhere to go. They didn't have any stability. When you looked at those children they didn't actually look at you, they looked through you. And it was this look without hope," the model said.

This has inspired Petra Nemcova to establish The Happy Hearts Fund in 2006. The charitable organization aims to advocate and provide for disadvantaged children with the sustainable help they need for healthy childhood development, including building schools for children in areas ruined by natural disasters.


The Czech model has, indeed, moved on after the tragedy. She was awarded the Glamour magazine's "Survivor Award" in 2005 for the way she picked up her life after the tsunami ordeal. She posed back on Sports Illustrated, the magazine which has become her springboard to becoming a supermodel. She wrote the book "Love Always, Petra" which narrates her life from early years in Communist Czechoslovakia to her engagement with Simon Atlee and to her life after losing him. She continued her modeling career while establishing a luxury boutique real estate firm at the same time. She has also been romantically involved with few men.

Petra Nemcova continues to take active involvement in many charity campaigns. The Happy Hearts Fund has expanded and is now providing help to children in eight different countries.

Recently on Good Morning America, the 30 year-old Petra Nemcova has once again spoke of her near-death experience. Watching the video footage of her rescue from tsunami, she was asked what has changed to the young woman she saw. The model and philanthropist answered, "Really, honestly, what I'm doing now, being able to improve, and better lives of children, that's what I always wanted to do."