Amanda Nguyen is a social entrepreneur who transformed the conversation around sexual assault survivor’s by founding a non for profit civil rights organization named RISE which is an incubator where justice is seeks on the world stage through mobilization of efforts to protect, serve and conserve the survivor’s all around the world.
Since its inception in 2014, the organization has helped to pass 42 laws federally, and now it’s set its sights on making an impact globally, including hosting survivor town halls at the United Nations and meeting with the Vatican.
The most recent step to further the understanding of people perception of asking the question “ What were you wearing?” , Amanda has successfully hyper focused on this and used fashion through New York Fashion Week to host a fashion show from designs from famous designers and survivors walk the runway to celebrate themselves as a mark of their resilience as assault doesn’t happen because you were wearing revealing clothes, it occurs as a power move to show people they are beneath you and have to be controlled. A Dominance tactic that traumatizes the survivors.
Amanda Nguyen in a ao dai at NYFW
In the first installment of the runway show, she wore a custom ao dai (a traditional Vietnamese dress) printed with the Survivors’ Bill of Rights, the first federal law she ever successfully convinced Congress to pass. She kicked off the runway show by presenting an award to Victoria Sulimani, ambassador to Sierra Leone, for her advocacy.
The show is attended by actors, activists and social supporters of the cause.
Kelly Marie Tran, Chanel Miller, Terry Crews & Jeannie Mai
Terry Crews who is also a survivor opened the show in a dark suit. Other models included a mix of activists, survivors, and allies, among them Chanel Miller in a printed flowing Veronica Beard dress, Kelly Marie Tran in a cobalt-blue jumpsuit, and Kweku Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela and cofounder of Africa Rising Foundation, in black trousers and a striped poncho. With the help of brands like Chloe, 3.1 Phillip Lim, and Veronica Beard, models wore what felt most true to their style and walked down the runway to the cheers from the audience.
Karen Warren for Rise
As a survivor herself, she is a powerhouse as an activist who is hosting her second installment of the NYFW show featuring designs from various designers who will loan their clothes to survivors and allies to strut their stuff on the runway.
Tatcha and Glow Recipe gift items/Instagram
Moreover, this year top beauty brands such as Glowrecipe and Tatcha are sponsoring the event by providing gift bags of their products to attendees. So, the survivors feel their every best at the show.
The woman is the epitome of turning adversity into actions that will protect survivors all around the world. Thank you , Amanda for all you do.