Michael Kors Unveils Slew of Initiatives for Watch Hunger Stop Campaign

Leading up to World Food Day on Oct. 16, Michael Kors has once again unfurled a host of initiatives to support Watch Hunger Stop, the brand’s annual campaign to fight global hunger.

The brand’s partner in the effort is the United Nations World Food Programme, and all funds raised support WFP’s school meals program. Last year, WFP provided school meals to more than 18 million children in 60 countries, providing them with nutrition to help them fulfill their potential.

For Watch Hunger Stop’s fifth anniversary campaign, Kors has partnered with Eli Sudbrack/AVAF, a multimedia artist living and working between São Paulo and New York. Sudbrack created the design for this year’s limited-edition T-shirt.

“When I was invited to this project, I was so happy to finally do something where I could reach out and help people’s lives in a very concrete way,” Sudbrack said. “I think every artist should do more of this, especially in the world we live in now. I come from a country that has a lot of issues with hunger and education. If you can solve those two problems, the world would be different.”

For the first time, Kors’ Watch Hunger Stop limited-edition T-shirts will be available for purchase online and in every Michael Kors lifestyle store in the U.S., as well as select global stores. The T-shirt retails for $40. The T-shirt design honors the U.N.’s goal of achieving zero hunger in the world by 2030. For every T-shirt sold, Kors will donate 100 meals to children in need through the World Food Programme, which means that 100 percent of the profits go to help feed hungry children. Kors will also donate 100 additional meals to WFP if customers “wear it and share it” by snapping a selfie in their Watch Hunger Stop T-shirt and posting it online with the hashtag #watchhungerstop.

Kors is continuing its partnership with Kate Hudson, actress, author, entrepreneur and a longtime supporter of Watch Hunger Stop and WFP.

“There’s something so simple but so deeply important about the work that the World Food Programme does,” Hudson said. “It is not just that [WFP] feeds children — though they do and that’s incredible. They also work to support families and education and local economies, working toward a bigger picture that enables communities, and ultimately countries, to get back on their feet. I really do believe that if we work together at this, we will see an end to world hunger.”

Hailee Steinfeld, who appeared in the 2017 Michael Kors The Walk Campaign, will also participate in the Watch Hunger Stop campaign for the first time.

“It was an honor to team up with Michael Kors again, this time for such an important, worthy cause,” Steinfeld said. “All children deserve to have their basic needs met in order to fulfill their greatest potential. If we band tighter, we can end hunger for good.”

Special-edition watches have been a part of the Watch Hunger Stop effort since its inception, with 100 meals donated to WFP for each watch sold. This year, the brand’s Runway watch features a gold-tone case in a slimmer profile with a detailed map of the world on a turquoise-hued dial. The unisex style, which retails for $275, is being sold exclusively this fall in select Michael Kors stores worldwide and online at michaelkors.com.

To acknowledge World Food Day, Kors has created a special Watch Hunger Stop Snapchat geofilter that will launch Oct. 1. If a customer visits any Michael Kors store in the U.S. or U.K. and snaps using the geofilter, 25 meals will be donated to WFP.

Through Share the Meal, the world’s first app against global hunger, people can donate as little as 50 cents.

Further, during the month of October, customers can make a donation directly to WFP at the register in select Michael Kors stores around the globe. A donation of $5 feeds a child in school for a month. In the U.S., users can text MKHUNGER to 50555 to make a $5 gift donation (message and data rates may apply). In select countries, visitors to WatchHungerStop.com can donate to WFP directly.

“Hunger is a global problem, but it’s also a solvable,” said Michael Kors. “However much you choose to get involved, you will make a real difference in someone’s life. One of my dreams is to see a world with zero hunger, and we are working hard with the United Nations World Food Programme to make that a reality. I’m proud of what Watch Hunger Stop has been able to accomplish so far, but we’re not done. So we continue to work together to zero.”

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