NIGHTLIGHT: BALLY PARTNERS WITH DKMS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST LEUKEMIA Bally Spring 2011 Collection Exclusive Preview Held January 27th 20% of all Sales Went Directly to Recruit Bone Marrow Donors for Leukemia Patients
Bally is pleased to announce that 2011 marks the beginning of a collaborative partnership with DKMS, the world’s largest bone marrow donor center. The partnership kicked off during an exclusive preview of the Bally Spring 2011 Collection on Thursday, January 27th from 6 to 9PM at the Bally Boutique located at 628 Madison in New York City. Twenty percent of all sales generated during the exclusive preview went directly to DKMS whose mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. In attendance were Nate Berkus, Michael Clinton, President of Hearst Magazines, Susan Plagemann, Publisher of Vogue, Linda Wells, Editor in Chief of Allure, Jan Schottlman, CEO of Derek Lam, Designer Carmen Marc Valvo and hosts Katharina Harf, Co-founder of DKMS Americas, Hana Soukupova, Drew Aaron, Felicitas & Christopher Brant, Marc Jordan, Viktoria and Philip von Wulffen. DJ Mia Moretti and Violinist Caitlin Moe performed for the crowd of nearly four hundred people.
In the midst of the festivities Katharina Harf introduced David Jolley, an acute leukemia survivor who encouraged the crowd to “Get Swabbed” and spoke about the second chance at life he was given as a result of a DKMS donor.
“Bally is luxury. But the biggest luxury is to make people, who need your help, smile.” said Berndt Haupt, President and CEO of Bally. “This is the dedication of DKMS, and we as Bally are thrilled to partner with the organization helping it to achieve its mission to recruit bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. We look forward to a long, fruitful partnership resulting in lives saved.”
In their first capsule collection for Bally, Creative Directors Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz leave no doubt that the focus of their SS11 collection is firmly on shoes and accessories: ready-to-wear sets the scene to become the accessory to the accessories. Combining Bally’s signifier of nature that represents strength, intelligence, beauty and balance with the surrealism of avant-garde art and sculpture, the shoe once again emerges as an object of desire. Fidler and Herz have drawn much of their inspiration for the women’s SS11 shoe collection from Bally’s extensive archive where they discovered distinctive designs from the ‘30s and ‘50s integrating clever use of material.
Every day, thousands of patients search the national registry in hope of a bone marrow donor match. Sadly, six out of 10 patients will never receive a transplant. “I’m elated that Bally is joining DKMS in the fight against leukemia,” said Katharina Harf, Co-founder of DKMS Americas. “My mother passed away from leukemia at a young age and my father continued the fight by recruiting thousands more bone marrow donors. I have since made it my goal to continue my mother’s legacy by helping other leukemia patients, so no family has to go through the same pain we did.”
Registering to become a bone marrow donor starts with a simple cheek swab; it is a commitment to help save a life. Donors must be between 18 and 55 and in good general health and meet the eligibility requirements. Upon completion of a simple registration form, prospective donors will swab (with a cotton-tip) the inside of the cheek to collect cells which identify HLA tissue-type. If prospective donors are found to be a match, a DKMS representative will contact them to answer an extended health questionnaire. At that point, a scheduled blood test and physical examination will ultimately determine if those candidates are in fact, the best suitable donors. When prospective donors register with DKMS, they will also be listed on the Be The Match Registry® (operated by the NMDP) and to be a possible donor match for any patient in need of a bone marrow transplant.
The registration cost incurred by DKMS for registering a new potential donor is $65. Payment of registration fees is not mandatory, but as a non-profit organization, DKMS depends on public donations and contributions to underwrite the fees. To learn more, visit www.GetSwabbed.org.
ABOUT BALLY
Bally – the Swiss Heritage Luxury House – was founded in Switzerland in 1851, by Carl Franz Bally in the Swiss hamlet of Schoenenwerd. Since its beginnings Bally’s craftsmen have been renowned for their innovation and skill producing highest quality shoes in the finest leathers. Extensive archives attest to the brand’s rich heritage, and as a source of inspiration, generate an unrivalled continuity in style and design. To this day the production and development facilities in Switzerland and Italy continue to house expert craftsmen capable of meeting and surpassing the challenges presented by modern design. Bally, whose collections today include shoes, leather goods and ready-to-wear emerges as the longest running global luxury brand in the world, with business continuing to go from strength to strength. Bally is owned by the LABELUX Group which is also shareholder of Solange Azagury-Partridge, Derek Lam and Zagliani.
Visit www.bally.com
ABOUT DKMS
The DKMS mission is to save lives by recruiting bone marrow donors for leukemia patients. More than 23,000 DKMS donors have helped save lives by donating their bone marrow. DKMS is the largest bone marrow donor center in the world with over 2.5 million registered donors. DKMS Americas is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information about DKMS and to learn more about registering as a bone marrow donor, please visit www.GetSwabbed.org
