DONATELLA VERSACE UNITES WITH ART...

 

For one-of-a-kind Versace totes with drawings done by children.

 

 

New York - Here in The Blay Report we love giving you news of designers' philanthropic projects and today Donatella Versace gets the spotlight. Famous guests, like January Jones and Amanda Hearst, attended the 2009 Whitney Studio Party on Monday (Oct. 19), a gala co-chaired by Versace. The designer teamed up with the Whitney Museum of American Art's Education Department to launch Arts Unite, "a global initiative aimed at improving the emotional well-being of needy children through two organizations: Jet Li's One Foundation, which funds children's centers for victims of last year's earthquakes in the Sichuan province of China, and Starlight Children's Foundation, a virtual support network for seriously ill children and their families." This past July 1,400 children from the two organizations were given blank white canvases and art supplies to draw their own interpretations of the theme of friendship. The children's drawing then were taken to Italy to be fashioned into Versace totes, featuring a short leather strap and hang tag with the child designer's name and age. The tote bags are available now at Versace boutiques and on Gilt Groupe for $250 with 100% of the proceeds will be donated to One Foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation. [Story/Images via Teen Vogue]

 

Kristina Bustos