Fashion Power Players Take a Stand on Immigration in Film From W Magazine

'I Am an Immigrant,' They Proudly Say

Published On
Feb 17, 2017

Editor's Pick

W Magazine took advantage of the power players congregating in New York for Fashion Week to create this bold statement against Trump's recent travel ban.

The new video, titled, "I Am an Immigrant," depicts an 81-person lineup of designers, models, editors, photographers and other fashion execs declaring just that. They include designers Diane von Furstenberg, Prabal Gurung, Joseph Altuzarra, Dao-Yi Chow; photographers Mario Sorrenti and Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin; models Adriana Lima, Jaharrah Ali, Winnie Harlow and mag execs like Vogue's Grace Coddington and Hamish Bowles and W's Creative and Fashion Director Edward Enninful and Editor-in-Chief Stefano Tonchi.

Enninful and Tonchi spearheaded the project, which was directed by Kloss Films and shot at New York's Milk Studios.

In a video accompanying the film, Katherine Cusumano wrote, "In the aftermath of President Donald J. Trump's now legally-challenged refugee ban, there's been an outrage from all corners of the world towards the White House's apparent anti-immigration policies. Fashion people aren't as insulated as they might seem; they've been equally appalled by the rhetoric stemming from Washington, perhaps because so many members of this colorful community are immigrants themselves, certainly friends, partners, collaborators, admirers of immigrant artists and designers."

W's film comes on the heels of another big fashion-inspired statement on immigration. As reported in The Cut, yesterday during a USPS stamp dedication ceremony for the late Oscar de la Renta, Democratic Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton proclaimed, "Oscar de la Renta was an immigrant And aren't we proud and grateful that he was?"