At this week’s annual kickoff of events for NYFW, teen starlet Yara Shahidi used her voice to raise awareness — not for clothing, shoes or fashion, but for social change and the right to vote.
Shahidi, along with Eighteen x 18 (the youth organization she founded), collaborated with Refinery 29 and its annual ’29Rooms’ interactive art installation exhibit.
Wearing a custom Off-White ensemble, Shahidi looked glamorous and youthful while welcoming visitors into her curated ‘pep rally’ space- modeled after a high school movie scene replete with gym bleachers and hallway lockers. Some of the locker doors were opened and stenciled with empowering phrases like “women’s rights” and “reproductive rights.” Some of our fave screen queens including Yvonne Orji, Nicole Richie and Logan Browning congratulated Shahidi on her room’s significance.
The ESSENCE cover girl has proven that she’s more than a pretty face by using fashion as a platform to take a stance for her generation. Explaining the importance of her organization, Shahidi says it’s “…a platform to encourage my peers to vote for the very first time in our upcoming midterm elections.”
