J. Crew Partners with Liya Kebede to Carry her Handmade
Children’s Collection, Lemlem
(NEW YORK) – When J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and team met supermodel, mother of two, and International Goodwill Ambassador Liya Kebede, a relationship was born. Lyons approached Kebede to appear in the April catalog, but both quickly realized their relationship needn’t end there.
The product of their partnership? Not only will Kebede be the first model to be the exclusive face of a J. Crew catalog, but J. Crew’s Crewcuts line will pick up pieces from the model’s handmade children’s clothing line, Lemlem. Lemlem (the name means “to bloom”) was launched by Kebede in 2007, with all of the pieces made by hand from natural cotton in her native Ethiopia. The line will be available at Crewcuts store locations and at jcrew.com beginning in April. Read More.
From Tadias file (2007): WWO honores Liya Kebede & Silda W. Spitzer
Tadias Magazine
By Tseday Alehegn
New York (Tadias) – The Worldwide Orphans Foundation, dedicated to transforming the lives of orphans around the world (with work in eight countries, including Ethiopia), held it’s 10-year anniversary gala at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday evening.
Co-Chairs Janet Kagan and Mary Knobler announced that the organization had raised approximatley 1.4 million dollars.
Dr. Aronson and Mary-Louise Parker
Tony award-winning actress Mary Louise Parker presented the Honorary Orphan Ranger Award to Supermodel Liya Kebede for her work in promoting maternal health in developing nations, while ABC news co-anchor Cynthia McFadden presented another Honorary Orphan Ranger Award to Silda Wall Spitzer, First Lady of New York and founding chair of the non-profit Children for Children.
Liya Kebede after being presented the Honorary Orphan Ranger
award by Mary-Louise Parker.
Silda Wall Spitzer also received the Honorary Orphan Ranger
Award
Cynthia McFadden presented the Honorary Orphan Ranger Award
to Silda Wall Spitzer
Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News, introduced Jane
Aronson, founder of Worldwide Orphans Foundation.
Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS Evening News
Aronson said she was proud to announce the opening of the WWO Academy in Addis Ababa, the same day as the gala in New York. The kindergarten offers schooling for children with HIV.
The gala program was interspersed with vignettes showcasing previous orphan rangers, who are medical students, health professionals and therapists who gave their time to working with orphanages in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.
The event included entertainment by Tony-award winning Broadway stars Christine Ebersole and Donna Murphy, and the cast of Grease on Broadway.
The cast of Grease on Broadway.
Tony-award winning Broadway stars Christine Ebersole and Donna Murphy.
Liya Kebede with Dr. Aronson’s son Desalegn. She received the Honorary Orphan Ranger Award
A fun and educational time was had by all.
More at: wwo.org
Liya, I am very proud of you. You are one of the rare breed of people that are making history. Your impressive achievements will be toled for generations to come.
God bless you.
Keep going girl vrey proud of you as an Ethiopian. I like what you chose for your line the name “lemlem” because it is so Ethiopain and it carries a huge meaning for all of us. Let this be a lesson for those poople who name their children as closley as possible to European or North American names, you succeed not because of your name, but because you work hard and you know who you are and you respect it that is the value we should be enstilling in our children and in the next generation, not being ashamed of who we are. As a first generation immigrants it scares me when I think about the legacy we will be leaving the next generation, our kids.