The CFDA and Vogue Are Launching ‘A Common Thread’ Fundraising Initiative to Support the American Fashion Community

With Americans hunkered down at home and many businesses closed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there are very few industries that aren’t already being financially affected by this sudden change in our way of life—and that includes the world of fashion.

Today, Tom Ford, chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and Vogue’s Anna Wintour announced a massive fundraising effort called A Common Thread to provide pandemic-related relief to the fashion community.

The initiative will also include a series of videos (launching on March 25) that will feature stories of those in the fashion industry “whose businesses and livelihoods have been affected by the pandemic and its economic impact.” This means not only designer names you may already be familiar with but also those who work behind the scenes. You’ll be able to find them on both Vogue’s and the CFDA’s digital platforms.

Ostensibly the CFDA and Vogue will be repurposing their already existing Vogue Fashion Fund (which was established in 2003 to aid emerging design talent in the wake of 9/11) to focus on those in the industry hit hardest by the pandemic. However, the assistance is not limited to past Fashion Fund participants or members of the CFDA.

If you’d like to show your support, you can donate by texting THREAD to 44-321 or by contributing online here. In a press release, it was noted that the parameters of the fund are still being established, but applications will be available on the CFDA website beginning Wednesday, April 8.

While this is certainly an incredibly trying time in America, and around the world, it has been extremely heartening to see how people are banding together in creative ways to help those whose businesses and livelihoods have been devastated by the pandemic and its economic after effects.

Keep up the good work, everyone.

Originally Appeared on Glamour