Every October, I think back to a T-shirt.
More than twenty years ago, I was handed the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer tee, the one with the bull's-eye. I was working in fashion then, and I still am. I remember feeling, for the very first time, that the fashion world, and society as a whole, was truly taking a look at breast cancer. At the women living with it. At the struggles they carry, so often in silence.
Fashion Targets Breast Cancer was launched by Ralph Lauren and the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1994. According to the CFDA, the initiative has since raised more than $55 million globally for breast cancer screening, treatment and survival.
Fashion was showing up, and I never forgot how inclusive that felt.
Today, I have SEYMOURE and I wanted to design something to give back.
This October, SEYMOURE introduces The Pink Passenger, our Passenger Glove in soft pink, with 20% of proceeds donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
A Story I've Never Forgotten
One of my great joys in life is meeting new people and telling stories through content. I have spent my career creating, and before SEYMOURE it was The Style Station, where I styled talent and directed creative teams on the world stage.
It was there that I had the privilege of telling Christine Handy's story with photographer Andreea Radutoiu.
Christine had already been through breast cancer and surgery. Her confidence and her drive to help other women were tremendous. Seeing the strength and the beauty in her new body was one of the most powerful moments of my creative life.
I'm sharing those images here, knowing some people may have strong reactions to them. I find them beautiful and powerful, like the color pink.
These photographs offer a glimpse into what women with breast cancer go through. We have to be willing to see it, because seeing is where understanding begins, and understanding is what moves us to help.
This story includes images of mastectomy scars.
"Giving strength to survivors exposed to the black mark of cancer. Embrace your imperfect beauty. Everyone has a story and a beauty that empowers their life."
Originally created for The Style Station. Photography: Andreea Radutoiu. Creative direction: Melissa Meister. In collaboration with Christine Handy.
Where the Pink Began
The pink ribbon has its own fashion-world story.
According to Breastcancer.org, Breast Cancer Awareness Month began in 1985 as a week-long awareness campaign. In 1992, SELF magazine's editor-in-chief Alexandra Penney and Evelyn Lauder of Estée Lauder, herself a breast cancer survivor, began distributing pink ribbons. Two women in beauty and media helped create a symbol the whole world now recognizes.
And awareness works. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer death rates in the U.S. have declined 44% since 1989.
Pink may be beautiful, but what it has come to represent is powerful.
Why It Matters to Me
I have been blessed not to experience breast cancer within my own family. But I have a dear friend who has, and I have seen up close what it asks of a woman and of everyone who loves her.
The numbers are staggering. The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
Here is the fact that moved me most: according to the World Health Organization, approximately 80% of breast cancers occur in women with no specific risk factors other than being female and getting older. Family history or not, every one of us needs to pay attention.
I am diligent about my own breast health with an annual mammogram. Screening recommendations vary by age and personal risk, so talk to your doctor about what is right for you. Don't let the stories about discomfort keep you away.
Awareness also means remembering that some women do everything right and still face metastatic breast cancer. October 13 is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, If you know someone touched by breast cancer, check in on her. Schedule your own mammogram, and bring a friend. Women advocating for women matters.
The Pink Passenger
Today, at SEYMOURE, we dress the hand. And this October, our Passenger Glove arrives as The Pink Passenger, a limited edition in soft pink.
Cut from supple nappa leather, the Passenger has an open back, a delicate oval cutout and a snap button at the wrist. In soft pink, it takes on an entirely different feeling.
Pink is beautiful, dreamy and free. But this pink means something more powerful.
To me, it speaks of tenderness and courage at the same time. Of femininity and strength. Of the women going through diagnosis and treatment, the women who have come through the other side, and the people standing beside them.
For October only, 20% of proceeds from The Pink Passenger will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
The Pink Passenger is for Christine, and for all the women like her. For their strength, their courage and their beauty, in every form it takes.
"I feel great when I'm making people look good. I feel even better when I'm being of service."
Melissa Meister
Founder, SEYMOURE
