Windfall Clothing Service is partnering with designers such as Franco Mirabelli and Daniel Espinosa and local celebrities like Shinan Govani and Dina Pugliese to promote the organization's fifth annual Wear White for Windfall campaign this month. "It's always such a fun month for us. It's a really exciting time," said events manager Kelly Carmichael.
"We named the campaign WW4W because white is very reminiscent of winter and cold, and we want to remind people that it's January, it's cold out, and there are a lot of people who don't have items or the means to keep themselves warm," she said.
This year, the organization, which distributes new clothing to social service agencies across the city, called on celebrity spokespeople such as Pugliese and Govani to pose for a new series of poverty awareness posters currently on display across the city—and on Toronto Transit Commission subways, streetcars, and buses.
In addition, Windfall is partnering with several local designers who are offering items for sale in their boutiques and online at ww4w.ca. Jewelry designer Daniel Espinosa is offering a sterling silver charm, Franco Mirabelli designed a white T-shirt, and Leslie Battrick created sterling silver earrings with ice flake quartz stones. Cosmetics companies Elizabeth Grant and Vasanti are also donating a portion of sales from select products to the cause.
The campaign features a number of events, including the official WW4W day on January 28, when Torontonians are asked to wear something white and donate $4 to support the cause. The CN Tower will be lit in white and blue to mark the date, and Frugal Fashion Week's launch party at Nyood is adopting an all-white theme to support the campaign. Marben Restaurant also hosts a FAB400 White Party on January 29.
Meanwhile, Windfall is planning a Dirty 30s theme for its seventh annual Buy Design benefit, which takes place April 10 in the Distillery District's Fermenting Cellar. "After blasting off into space last year, Buy Design is going back to simpler times with a down-home, country-style bash celebrating the arrival of spring and the style of the 1930s," said Andrew Sardone, event co-chair and creative director.
