LONDON — De Beers Diamond Jewellers has named the latest band of inspiring women who will appear in its Moments in Light charitable project.
The women the jewelry house has chosen for this year’s project are architect Zaha Hadid; model and actress Liya Kebede; jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall and singer and actress Karen Mok.
For a second year, De Beers Diamond Jewellers, a joint venture between the De Beers diamond company and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, has commissioned photographer Mary McCartney to photograph the women, with the portraits to be officially unveiled in London on Sept. 18, and online at momentsinlight.co.uk on the same day.
Related Articles
Kebede and McCartney will attend the London event, as will Krall, who will perform during the evening, which falls on the first day of London Fashion Week.
You May Also Like
De Beers launched the Moments in Light initiative last year to raise money for Women for Women International, a charity that works with the female survivors of war. De Beers makes a donation to Women for Women on behalf of each of the women it celebrates, and the Moments in Light projects for 2014 and 2015 will see De Beers providing financial support for six different yearlong programs to support 25 women in each of five countries — Kosovo, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Rwanda.
The grants from De Beers will fund classrooms in those countries, where women can learn new skills with the aim of rebuilding their lives in the wake of conflict.
As part of this year’s project, Hadid, Krall, Mok and Kebede will each appear in a short film shot by McCartney to be shown on De Beers’ Web site, in which they will each talk about their craft and a particular moment that inspired them to succeed and who gave them support.
François Delage, chief executive officer of De Beers Diamond Jewellers, said: “By celebrating talented women, we are both inspiring women to be proud of their own achievements as well as helping women in difficult situations around the world,” he said, noting that “the soul of our brand [is] fundamentally about revealing the brilliance of women and of diamonds.”
Brita Fernandez Schmidt, executive director of Women for Women International U.K. added: “With the help of the fantastic women featured in the campaign…200 women from some of the most marginalized communities in countries affected by conflict will be given the opportunity to have their moment in light and change their lives,” she said. “It is inspiring to see the transformation of these women; with the right support and education they move from survivors of horrible atrocities to agents of change.”