Inspiring Women Magazine September 2023

INSPIRING 

WOMEN 

September 2023 Volume 7 Issue 3

Contents 

September 2023. Volume 7, Issue 3 

8 

Style and 

Sustainability in 

the 21 st Century 

Olga Antonova, AWC 

Berlin, speaks about 

her experiences as a 

personal fashion stylist. 

18 

24 

Fashion Inspired 

by Nature 

Mariachiara Giacomel, 

AWA Rome, explains 

how her childhood 

hometown inspired her 

to create her own 

clothing label, Eliot. 

38 

A Love Affair 

with Fabric 

Samira Allali, 

AIWC Casablanca, 

shares how her 

passion for fabric 

led to a career in 

fashion design. 

profiles 

Fashion with 

a Conscience 

The designs of 

Andrea Saieh Jimenez, 

AWC Bogotá, prove 

that fashion can be 

both beautiful 

and sustainable. 

44 

66 

Holding Fashion 

Accountable 

Callie Riemann, AWC 

Hamburg, works hard 

behind the scenes to 

make sure clothes are 

produced ethically. 

72 

86 

Self-Designed, 

Self-Made 

Deborah Briggs, AWC 

Denmark, shares her 

experiences designing 

and sewing her 

own clothes. 

92 

Showcasing 

Heritage Through 

Fashion 

Yerie Mary Kamara, 

IWC Moldova, shares 

how her childhood in 

Sierra Leone influenced 

her life in fashion. 

Connecting the 

Dots of a 

Fashionable Life 

Gaby Basora, 

AAWE Paris, shares 

her favorite 

design influences. 

Southern 

Influence on a 

Parisian Lifestyle 

Diana Levaton, AWG Paris, 

shares her fascinating 

journey from shy Southern 

girl to owning a Parisian 

modeling agency. 

17 

Inspired Reader 

In October last year 

we launched our 

newest initiative, a 

quiz to find the 

Inspired Reader for 

each issue. See our 

latest winner! 

31 

53 

A Club Inspires: 

AWA Rome 

FAWCO Rep Erica 

Zmitrovitch 

introduces 

us to FAWCO’s 

American Women’s 

Association of Rome. 

Through My 

Lens 

This compilation 

feature focuses on the 

current issue’s theme 

with a photo and short 

caption from multiple 

contributors. For this issue, we are 

highlighting the Foundation Night Gala at 

the FAWCO Biennial Conference 2023. 

79 

99 

features 

In My Own Words: A 

Day in the Life of a 

Fashion Stylist 

Nadine Kazerounian, 

Barcelona Women's 

Network, loves being a 

stylist, and has combined 

it with charity fundraising, 

both for the club and 

for the refugee NGO 

she supports. 

83 

In My Own Words: 

Palm Beach Glam 

"Cloffice" Makeover 

Diane Naveau, AWC 

Antwerp, founded The 

Closet Merchant in 2018 

to create sustainability in 

the fashion industry by 

focusing on personal 

style, creating more 

options from what you already own and 

promoting sustainable shopping habits. 

Inspiring Reads: 

Modern Resin 

Jewellery 

Sara Naumann, AWC 

Hamburg, has been in 

the creative industry 

for over 20 years. As a 

designer and instructor, 

her mission is to make the technical parts 

easy so crafters of all experience levels can 

enjoy the creative process. 

2 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 3

5 

6 

in every issue 

A Note from the Editor 

Advertisers Index 

102 

103 

Our Next Issue 

Inspiring You 

“Clothes aren't going to change the 

world. The women who wear them will." 

— Anne Klein 

“Style is something each of us already 

has, all we need is to find it." 

— Diane von Furstenberg 

a note from 

the editor 

7 Introducing This Issue 104 More About This Issue 

Inspiring Women Magazine: Through My Lens 

We are looking for your photos of friends, family or yourself that you think embody the next 

issue's theme of "Women Embracing Culture". 

Photos should be in color and a minimum of 300 dpi. Send your photo with your name, FAWCO 

club and a maximum 50-word caption explaining why the photo fits the theme to: 

inspiringwomenfeatures@fawco.org 

The deadline for submitting 

photos for our next 

issue is ... 

October 2, 2023 

105 

Photo feature 

That’s Inspired! 

I panicked when I learned Women and Fashion 

was the theme of the first issue of Inspiring 

Women magazine with me at the helm. Fashion 

is not my thing. I don’t follow fashion trends and 

probably wouldn’t recognize the names of any 

current runway models. Give me a comfy pair of 

jeans, a nice t-shirt or sweater with a cardigan 

and maybe a pair of flats or, even better, 

sneakers and I’m good. Artsy jewelry as an 

accessory I can relate to, but fashion? No. Isn’t 

fashion a bit frivolous? But then there was the 

sticky question of fashion versus style. Are 

they different, the same, intertwined and 

inseparable? I guess I really hadn’t given it 

much thought. 

Then a couple of things happened. First, my 

mom passed away while we were working on 

this issue. She had great fashion sense and 

always made sure she was dressed well if she 

was going to be seen in public. She had 

accumulated a lot of clothes. As my sister, two 

nieces and I started sorting her belongings, we 

discovered how much clothing and accessories 

are part of our memories. Some were shared, 

others personal, but we all had memories 

associated with items she had worn or, because 

she was a talented seamstress, sewn. Our ages, 

sizes, and personal styles vary greatly, but we all 

found items of clothing and jewelry we wanted 

to keep. There were many items that were 

beautiful and fashionable for a petite 83-yearold 

that just would not look right on any of us, so 

we passed them on to the local women’s shelter. 

Then, the four of us also decided to purchase a 

piece of jewelry while we were on a family 

vacation together in Greece. As a theme, we 

chose the olive branch as a symbol of peace, 

wisdom, friendship and tranquility. It took a 

while, but eventually we all found something 

that spoke to us. True to our personalities, the 

four pieces of jewelry are very different from 

one another, but all incorporate the olive branch 

in some way. It was such fun looking at all the 

different designs and interpretations from 

various artists and choosing the one that best 

fit each of our styles. 

Finally, I started reading the diverse nominations 

for women to include in this issue and the 

resulting profiles and features. What these 

women do isn’t frivolous, and while their work 

might sometimes include a runway, there was 

so much more. As you will read, fashion isn’t just 

about what we choose to wear. This issue will 

introduce you to women who design, model 

and run modeling agencies. There are women 

who sew, create jewelry, focus on repurposed 

textiles and fight for the ethical production of 

clothing. We will show you examples of fashion 

as fundraisers. We also introduce you to women 

running fashion-related businesses and making 

sure inclusivity is part of the fashion world. 

Sustainability is often a common thread. Finally, 

we add something many of us can use (even 

those of us who aren’t fashionistas) – help 

finding our own style and organizing our closets. 

In the end, I discovered fashion and style are 

independent but intertwined. Fashion is much 

deeper than simply what’s being shown on 

the runway that season. The fashion industry 

is changing to become more sustainable and 

inclusive. The women in this issue are helping to 

make that change happen. 

Best wishes! 

Michele 

Inspiringwomen.editor@fawco.org 


advertisers 

index 

introducing 

this issue 

TASIS p. 15 

The American School in England TASIS 

England is a leading international day and 

boarding school (ages 3-18) located 35 

minutes from central London on a beautiful 

campus in Thorpe, Surrey. 

London & Capital p. 36 

Whether you are a US Citizen living abroad 

or a foreign entity with US reporting, their 

dedicated teams take care of your wealth, 

giving you time to concentrate on the things 

that matter to you. London & Capital has 

been supporting FAWCO since 2016. 

My first real memory of my life is driving through the city of Niagara Falls, NY. It was winter 

and I was sitting in the back of my grandmother’s pink Cadillac. The seats were white leather. 

I was so little that my legs didn’t reach over the end of the seat. That was okay because I was 

able to admire my very shiny patent leather shoes. I was wearing a pink wool coat and 

matching hat from Bonwit Teller and a white fur hand muff. So Barbicore. 

To this day nearly every aspect of fashion intrigues me. As a young girl I was very particular 

about my clothes. I took up sewing for that reason and learned a lot about design and 

construction. I see clothes and fashion as art and architecture (right now I am excited by the 

Dutch designer Iris van Herpen). Clothes represent our culture and have always been a part 

of a time in history. 

LAUNCH p. 16 

LAUNCH is an independent education 

consultancy and a Target Program Sponsor. 

Lauren Hensel, founder of LAUNCH, 

and Sara Bittner are members of the 

AWC Amsterdam. 

London Realty Intl. p. 28 

London Realty Intl. is owned by AWC London 

member Lonnée Hamilton, who is a 

worldwide property consultant. Her firm 

works with the best agents across the globe 

to fulfill your property needs. 

Janet Darrow Real Estate p. 51 

Around the corner or a world away, contact 

Janet Darrow, FAUSA member, to find the 

best properties. FAWCO referrals to Janet 

help the Target Program! 

The Pajama Company p. 97 

The Pajama Company, founded by 

Ellie Badanes, FAUSA and AW Surrey, sells 

pajamas that are cozy, cheerful and 

available online! 

Throughout the years FAWCO has relied on advertisers and sponsors to augment its 

income. This revenue has allowed FAWCO to improve services and gives it the flexibility to 

try the latest innovations to enhance the FAWCO experience. FAWCO’s advertising partners 

believe in our mission and support our goals; some advertisers also 

directly support our activities and projects. 

We encourage club leadership throughout the FAWCO network to 

share our publications with their membership. Our advertising 

partners have valuable products and services and we want your 

members to take advantage of what they offer. Please support them! 

For more information on these advertisers or if you have any questions 

about FAWCO’s advertising program, please contact Elsie Bose: advertising@fawco.org. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t get too much taller than the toddler sitting in the back of that Cadillac. 

I worked in fashion. Many times when I worked in retail, I would be standing with my male 

colleagues in a meeting, and I needed to make sure I was included in the conversation. While 

the merits of my contributions to the subject at hand were as good as anyone else’s, what I 

wore gave me confidence. Never overpowering, but power enough. 

And as anyone in the fashion business can tell you, the fall fashion season is usually its most 

exciting season. As August fades, we are all just a little tired of wearing clothes whose sole 

purpose is to keep us cool – damn how we look. Fall brings the promise of rich and exciting 

designs and colors that make us think about the fresh, crisp air of autumn. It’s also when the 

fashion media, especially the magazines, publish their most lavish issues. Not to be outdone, 

Inspiring Women thought that we should showcase some of our members who have made an 

impact in the fashion world. 

The members profiled in this issue paint nearly a complete picture of the “world of fashion.” 

We are privileged to count among our members some incredibly talented designers with a 

vision “beyond the pretty.” They are designing beautiful clothes and making sure that they are 

beautiful on every type of body. The fashion industry must take responsibility to eradicate the 

abuses in manufacturing both to the humans they employ and the planet that they inhabit. 

You will read how these members are addressing this in their work. Fashion is fun and this 

issue highlights how clothes can make us look and feel good and express our personalities and 

our own creativity. 

Finally, whether you are a fashionista or not, the words of Iris Apfel, an American designer and 

style icon still active today at the age of 103, are good words of advice: 

"I say, dress to please yourself. Listen to your inner muse and take a chance. 

Wear something that says, 'Here I am today.'" 

Elsie 

Founder 


profile 

Style and Sustainability 

in the 21st Century 

Olga Johnston Antonova, AWC Berlin, speaks about her experiences as 

a personal fashion stylist, an image consultant and a sustainable fashion 

educator and journalist. 

I 

grew up in Russia, in Eastern Siberia, 

on the world’s largest freshwater lake, 

Lake Baikal. My parents influenced my 

taste and ability to create harmonious 

color and shape compositions. My dad, a 

radiologist and photographer, introduced me 

to classical art, glorious icons of the Russian 

churches and exquisitely illustrated fairy tale 

books. My mom, a physicist and mathematician 

by profession, made most of my clothes. She 

taught me the value of handmade and unique 

things, shaping my taste, my eye for color and 

my ability to combine clothes and accessories 

to a desired effect. 

I studied English, German and linguistic theory 

at the university in Irkutsk (my home town). 

After graduating in 1992, I was invited to Dublin 

to take part in a business course, resulting in a 

full-time job in an Irish trading company and 

stayed there for a few years. Eventually I got 

married and moved abroad for my husband’s 

work. As an expat family, we have lived in a 

number of European countries and my ability 

to work as a fashion stylist allowed me to make 

friends and find projects in every new location. 

However, I still travel to Ireland regularly to 

spend time in the Irish countryside by the sea 

in the peace and quiet of County Kerry. 

Olga Johnston Antonova 

Nine years ago I moved to Berlin. 

This multicultural city stimulates 

my creativity through its vibrant 

art and culture scene. My fashion 

styling work expanded into the 

Olga at the 

eco fabric fair 

Copenhagen 


field of sustainability and 

mindfulness. Berlin has a 

great number of eco fashion 

designers and initiatives. I 

now educate my clients about 

responsible consumption, 

develop educational programs 

about sustainability in fashion 

for the fashion designers and 

schools and get invited to speak 

about sustainable fashion at 

international conferences 

and “Fashion Weeks” around 

the world. I joined AWC Berlin 

and I am grateful to this 

supportive community of 

international women who 

helped me to realize my 

biggest sustainable fashion 

project in Berlin – the 

Sustainable Fashion Show 

"Driving Sustainability." 

What does “fashion” mean 

to you? 

Fashion is a large industry. It is 

a huge business with global 

supply chains, involving millions 

of people, from farmers to 

vintage resellers. Fashion is 

also a cultural phenomenon, 

reflecting historical periods and 

changing along with them. And, 

of course, fashion is clothing, 

a tool for self-expression, a way 

to communicate your identity 

and personality to the world, 

or a way to mask and hide 

things, depending on how one 

uses it. 

For me, fashion is a creative 

outlet that allows me to help 

people express their desires and 

liberate them from fears – 

to unblock them. During my 

styling sessions, people get to 

know themselves better, an 

important "side effect’' of 

improved looks. 

These days a fashion stylist is 

more of a personal coach. I find 

that by starting to work with 

outer looks, a person finds a 

path to reconnect with their true self and 

becomes more confident and happy. 

As a stylist I help people create looks that are 

harmonious with their personalities and desires. 

It’s more than just outward appearance. It goes 

deeper. Clients become liberated, unstuck, and 

find balance and harmony within themselves 

and in their surroundings, as if plugging into 

higher vibrations of beauty. I think that personal 

styling is a powerful and enjoyable tool available 

to every one of us to create a positive life, but I 

see that it is underutilized by many. I would love 

to change that for the benefit of all the women 

and men who miss out on the joy of feeling 

good and being the true and best version 

of themselves. 

Driving Sustinabilty fashon show, 

Olga speaking to the audience 

(page 10, top) 

Sustainable Fashion Fair 

(page10, bottom) 

Sustainble Fashion Presentation, 

Berlin (left) 

A peek into a styling moment 

(below) 

What three items belong in 

every woman’s wardrobe? 

It’s hard to choose only three 

garments, but I will try. 

1. A dress that compliments 

your body shape and, with 

correct accessories, can take you from the 

morning in the office to cocktails or a special 

event in the evening. 

2. A bra that is correctly fitted by an expert at 

a specialized store. 

3. A very large square scarf in very thin wool 

or silk that can be used as a luxurious wrap 

for a special occasion, or can be thrown over 

your shoulders anytime you need to be warm. 

It is an unbeatable practical accessory at the 

end of the yoga class or during a meditation – 

you can wrap yourself in it and feel and look 

beautiful and stylish in an instant. 

How have COVID-19 and environmental 

concerns impacted fashion? 

COVID-19 interrupted supply 

chains when many fashion 

brands canceled orders and 

stopped paying factories 

located in poorer countries. 

A lot of unethical behavior 

in the industry was exposed 

by COVID-19. On the other 

hand, we as a society and 

the industry realized that 

we have issues with overproduction, 

as consumers 

do not actually need to shop 

weekly but can re-use and 

restyle what they have. 

COVID-19 empowered 

digital fashion as fashion 

shows went online and some 


Vintage finds Berlin (page 12, top) 

were made in a virtual format – a real 

breakthrough for the metaverse and 

fashion. This also meant a great reduction of 

production costs and environmental impact 

associated with such events. So there were 

some good developments due to the pandemic. 

How can a person be both fashionable and 

still make good choices for the environment? 

This is very easy, even if one does not follow 

the latest news about the most environmentally 

friendly fabrics and processes. My 

recommendations are: reorganize your 

wardrobe, edit it out and create new looks from 

what you have with a styling professional. Make 

a precise list of what might be missing that 

exactly fits your style needs, because having 

one or two accessories or garments might pull 

together tons of new looks from the idle things 

in your existing wardrobe. Shop correctly, 

either at vintage and second hand stores, or 

anywhere you like, but buy exactly what fits 

and complements what you already have. 

Ask yourself - how often will I wear this 

item? With what? On what occasion? If you 

are satisfied with your answers – then it is a 

good item to buy. Don’t buy things that you 

already have. This sounds strange, but from 

my experience of editing people’s wardrobes 

I know that this is a big problem. People have 

clones of the same trousers,T-shirts and 

skirts and their wardrobes are hard to 

navigate and feel cluttered. The choice of 

styles and things is actually very limited. So 

please, when you are drawn to something 

new in a store, pause and imagine what 

other similar things you might already have. 

Talking to Diane von Furstenberg, Berlin 2015 

(page 12, bottom) 

With upcycling designer, Berlin vintage market (left) 

Styling workshop (below) 

What advice would you give to a woman who 

wants to dress well, desires quality clothing, 

but must remain on a budget? 

Learn about local designers who produce 

independent labels where you live. They 

create unique garments, make a small number 

of pieces and can even fit and tailor to your 

shape. They score high on the uniqueness and 

quality scale, more expensive than mass 

market chains, but definitely more affordable 

than luxury brands. Shopping from a local 

designer you receive a luxury level of service 

and care. You can build on a wardrobe this way, 

by adding new garments from the same label 

annually, especially if you meet the designer, 

who will be aware of what you already have and 

want to achieve with your wardrobe. It is really 

a precious way of shopping and caring for 

yourself. You can mix local designer pieces 

stylishly with high street purchases and look 

amazing and different while fitting your own 

requirements and body shape. 

Another wonderful way of finding special items 

is vintage shopping, but one needs a good eye 

When I create looks for my clients, we take 

photos of each look. Then that person can 

go over their personal fashion photo library 

on her phone. This practice helps to avoid 

shopping remorse. Also, there is nothing 

wrong with having a large wardrobe if you 

are using everything from it in rotation. 

Take good care of your garments and know 

how to combine them. Even with a large 

wardrobe, one can be in control of what 

one owns and be confident about every 

piece of clothing and accessory. Minimalism 

is a personal choice, not a must. Learning 

to accessorize will reduce the need for 

new items and is a powerful styling and 

environmental tool that can be mastered 

by everyone. 


for that and the ability, as well as knowing good 

second hand and vintage stores. 

What is your favorite go-to outfit? 

I am a stylist, can I give you two? 

A long dress that can be accessorized and styled 

up or down depending on the occasion. 

A jumpsuit that fits my body shape and can be 

sporty or classy – I know how to accessorize it to 

pull off the desired look. 

YouTube video 

What’s your favorite beauty tip? 

Raise your energy by doing what makes you feel 

good, whether it is exercise, massage, taking 

time for self-care, meditation, prayer, making 

love, going for a swim or a walk, or working on 

something when you feel in flow – go for it! 

If you could travel back in time, where would 

you go and why? 

I would go back to the beginning of the 1910s 

to see the Ballet Russes in Paris, by Russian 

impresario Sergei Diaghilev. I would love to meet 

people in the arts who were active around that 

time in Berlin, Paris and Moscow. 

What is something you love now, that you 

never could have imagined you would like in 

the past? 

I love living with Shiba Inu dogs. I adore them 

and I am very grateful to my kids and my 

boyfriend for insisting on having a Shiba Inu 

15 years ago. Now we have more than 10 

living with us in our home in the West of Ireland! 

I could never have imagined this in the past! 

At home in the west of Ireland (above) 

Lake Baikal, home (bottom left) 

A bright day in Dublin, 2014 (below) 

In the above video Olga explains "How the world will be saved by the Western Woman" 

LEAD 

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Developing kindness and integrity is 

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TASIS England offers a world-class education 

with a global outlook that nurtures future leaders 

brimming with the potential to positively contribute 

to the world. Our international community fosters 

independent, critical thinkers and compassionate, 

principled learners, ready to accomplish great things. 

Discover your path at TASIS England. 

London Bus Service Available 

See our routes here: 

tasisenglard.org/admissions/student-transportation 

BOOK A PRIVATE TOUR TASISENGLAND.ORG/DISCOVER 


10 Parent Tips 

for College Applications 

The college search has the potential to be a fun journey that brings families together, OR a battle to 

the finish line that leaves family relationships in tatters. Ensure a positive experience by following our 

parent tips. 

1. Use reminders to move the process along. Try these scripts to remind without nagging: 

Would you like to do it yourself, or have me help you? 

I need you to _____________. 

How will you take care of ____________? 

You care, so I'd love for you to decide. 

2. Discuss financial boundaries early. 

If you have a hard budget for school each year, be honest about what you can(not) afford. 

The most selective colleges tend to be the most expensive, so be sure not to send mixed messages. 

3. Empower your child. 

Doing things on their own will build their confidence. Teens can: 

Conduct their own research. 

Talk with admissions staff. 

Ask for help in secondary school. 

Study for the ACT/SAT. 

4. Actively listen to your child’s concerns, comments, and priorities. 

Remember who is actually applying and attending college, and respect their wishes. 

5. Keep an open mind. 

College/university admissions have changed drastically since the 90s. If you are unsure about 

remaining impartial, hiring LAUNCH can provide clarity for your family. 

6. Put the rankings aside. 

Colleges are ranked by an algorithm which can be gamed. Many highly ranked colleges do this by 

artificially inflating their stats without changing the quality of the education provided. Tread 

carefully. 

7. Designate times to discuss. 

Set aside a designated time every week to discuss the search and application process. Outside 

that time slot, enjoy your teen! They’ll be moving out before you know it. 

8. Respect your child’s budding adulthood. 

Teens pick up on your biases, so try to remain neutral to allow your teen to form their own opinions. 

NEVER compare them with their siblings. 

9. Stay positive. 

When your teen’s emotions are up and down, remain positive and encouraging. They will make 

mistakes and miss deadlines. Don’t scold them for it, but help figure out how to move forward. 

10. Be happy with their decision. 

Trust your teen to know what’s right for them, and get excited about their choice! 

We are passionate about guiding families through the complex university admissions process. Go 

to https://rb.gy/14a8r to receive the Family Essentials Guide (FREE for FAWCO members with 

the code FAWCO) including student timelines to help you on your way. 

w w w . l a u n c h e d u c a t i o n a d v i s o r s . c o m 

feature 

Inspired Reader 

INSPIRING 

WOMEN 

Goodbyes 

& 

New Beginnings 

May 2023 Volume 8 Issue 2 

We are delighted to announce that the Inspired 

Reader for our "Goodbyes and New Beginnings" 

issue is: Margie O’Rourke of the American 

Women’s Club of Dublin! 

A $50 donation has been made to the 

Target Project in her name. 

Do you want a donation to the Target Project made in your name? 

When you are done reading this issue, simply complete the 

Inspired Reader quiz 

https://bit.ly/InspiredReaderQuizSept2023 

by October 19 and, if you answer all the questions correctly, you 

may be our next Inspired Reader! 


profile 

A Love Affair with 

Fabric 

Samira Allali, AIWC Casablanca, shares how her passion for fabric led to a 

career in fashion design. 

I 

grew up in a boarding school in 

Casablanca in a very lovely 

neighborhood. I was there with my 

seven brothers and sisters while 

my father and mother were living in the 

countryside an hour from the big city. My 

father was a farmer who owned a lot of land, 

and I used to go there during weekends and 

holidays. These visits to the fields had a 

tremendous impact on me. COLORS! There were 

colors everywhere, and it was stunning! I could 

observe wildflowers, plants, birds and fruits. I 

really loved my connection with nature and all 

its beauty - not only colors, but also geometric 

forms, smells, textures and sensations. I can 

say that those feelings have stayed with me 

until now. I wasn’t aware of it back then, but 

what I saw during my tours in the pastures 

really shaped my vision, style and taste. There I 

developed my love for fashion and high couture. 

After turning 18, I wanted to learn English, 

discover a new culture and find another “way 

of being.” For someone fascinated with English 

manners, cups of tea and rock and roll, there 

was only one city to visit - London! I stayed there 

for six months, and it was the farthest and 

longest time I had ever been away 

from my relatives. It was a 

wonderful experience. 

Samira Allali 

After my adventures in London, I 

Caftan made 

by Samira and 

came back to live with my two 

showcased in a 

sisters in Casablanca's downtown. 

Los Angeles 

18 

fashion show 

INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 19

Examples of Samira's mule designs (above) 

On the runway with Samira and one of her beautiful 

caftan creations (page 21) 

Tell us about your earliest 

experience with fashion. 

The first piece I made on my own 

came about by accident. It was Eid 

al-Adha or the “Feast of the Sacrifice,” 

which is a Muslim celebration that 

consists of sacrificing a sheep and 

giving half of it to the needy. I was 

selling textiles to make “caftans,” 

traditional Moroccan gowns. I sold the 

caftan cloth to a client who needed 

to make one for her niece who was 

about to get married. Close to the 

wedding date, the client contacted 

me, desperate, because she had been 

unable to find someone to make the 

caftan. For me, it was now or never, so 

I took the opportunity and went for it. 

It was both a success and a blast. She 

loved it! I did too. That was 2010. 

I now create traditional Moroccan 

outfits that could be Westernized. I 

hand make them for women who wish to have 

a beautiful ensemble for a special occasion or 

for everyday life. I also create pieces that would 

be exhibited in parades (in London, Casablanca, 

Montreal, Los Angeles and Doha) or else sold. 

What three items belong in every woman’s 

wardrobe and why? 

High-quality shoes and a high-end purse are 

must-haves in every woman’s wardrobe. Those 

two items shape and give the tone to your outfit. 

You can wear the most luxurious dress with an 

uncomely pair of shoes, and your attire will be 

screaming to death. 

Another component that a woman should 

have in her wardrobe is a black djellaba. I 

encourage occidental women to try and maybe 

to adopt it. A djellaba (see picture on page 23) is 

a long type of dress that can be worn on every 

occasion in Morocco. It’s delicate, light, comfy, 

embellishes any woman's body and, if paired 

with beautiful shoes or slippers (picture left), 

will make any heart melt and give an undeniable 

confidence and allure. 



It is all about research and willingness. Looking 

for environmentally friendly material and fabric 

may help. Take the time to find material that is 

not made under catastrophic conditions such 

as animals’ suffering and torture, children’s 

exploitation or human exploitation per se. It’s 

really going beyond wearing what’s beautiful 

and stylish to choosing a more conscious 

wearing that can only start within one’s deep 

self. Nowadays, a lot of brands promote their 

responsibility toward the environment. Thus, 

looking for less damaging textiles and brands 

that adopt ethical manners is the way to go. Also, 

brands that are not mindful toward their actions 

will not display transparency of information 

relating to the production process. This is the 

first sign to look for. Numerous brands make 

the necessary effort to keep the world a happy 

place, such as Mango, H&M conscious, Levi's, 

Vega, Brava fabrics. Buying local products is 

another way to reduce our negative output. 

Many companies have started to produce their 

own brand to be sold locally. 

Fashion magazines tend to market to one 

demographic. In a perfect world how would 

you like to see fashion marketed? 

Fashion magazines tend to have that strict 

image about ideal beauty for both men and 

women, but it is starting to migrate toward a 

I worked in sales and had a decent life. At that 

time, I was interested in fashion, but I was not 

involved in it whatsoever. 

In 1992, I got married and moved into an 

upscale apartment in a very chic area. I also 

started to go back and forth to Montreal, 

where I bought clothes and sold them back 

in Morocco. I soon opened a boutique called 

Milord, which was designed for men. 

A few years later, my little family and I moved 

to Montreal, Canada. There, I discovered the 

wonderful world of textiles. I fell so hard for 

it that I started buying and selling fabric to 

women who wanted to transform them into 

Moroccan traditional clothes. As I was getting 

more and more into that domain, my expertise 

got better, and my interest and curiosity grew. 

After six years in Montreal, I went back to my 

hometown and started to dive deeper and 

deeper into the fashion world. Presently, I juggle 

between being a mother, a housewife, an 

entrepreneur, a businesswoman and an artist. 

It is quite arduous, but I compensate with a 

good night's sleep! 

What does “fashion” mean to you? 

The timeless Coco Chanel once said: “Fashion 

fades, only style remains the same. If a woman 

is poorly dressed, you notice her dress. If a 

woman is impeccably dressed, you notice 

the woman.” 

To be fashionable or in touch is to wear what we 

love, what fits us well, what embellishes us and 

what unifies us. It is about being comfortable in 

our skin – with who we are and being free in our 

movements. It means to be who we are and who 

we desire to be simultaneously. It’s also sharing 

a message that has a significant intent, toward 

a cause, a culture or a tradition. A word to 

ourselves and to others. However, it’s mainly 

about staying authentic to the self, because if 

we wear something for the trend’s purpose, and 

we are not convinced of it, it will be seen, and it 

won’t be positively eye-catching. 

Applying “fashion” to my work means keeping 

it fresh, elegant, and, above all else, fitting my 

client. To me, she will be the one defining 

fashion. But don’t get me wrong, in order to stay 

in tune and young I do look at famous creations 

and new trends. 


more realistic and inclusive one. In a perfect 

world, I would certainly encourage that change, 

so we can see trends that are not restricted to 

“ideal criteria” but emphasize the sensuality, 

elegance and well-being of everyone. 




Let’s begin by focusing on recycling: Visit thrift 

shops. It is unbelievable all the treasures you 

can find there. You will also find items with 

history, heritage and sometimes one-of-a-kind 

pieces, which is invaluable. In addition, a lot 

of big names are going into the second-hand 

market. For instance, in 2021, H&M opened 

another segment, H&M Rewear. There are also 

apps such as Vinted where people sell their own 

clothes. It is also important to look at the clothes 

you already have. We all have those outfits in 

our wardrobe that we no longer wear but are 

unable to give away. Use some creativity to give 

them a rebirth, maybe some cutting, or give 

them to a professional to see what he or she 

could do. 

If you want to stay on budget but still want to 

look fabulous, invest in shoes or bags that will 

give an edge to your outfit and allow you to keep 

the other elements discreet. Also, never buy a 

cheap dress or shirt because it will show. 

Finally, you can come visit me, we will find some 

tremendous compromises, simply because I love 

what I do, and I love to make other women bold 

and sublime. 

How does what you do in fashion matter in 

the world? 

I put the accent on local work and Moroccan 

art craft, a talented field that deserves to be 

widely recognized. Since I do not produce on a 

large scale and work on custom-made basis, I 

have a tiny environmental footprint. 

Moreover, I work a lot with word of mouth. 

Some craftsmen recommend other ones to me 

and they in turn recommend others and so on. 

This contributes to building the economy and 

increasing jobs in Morocco, a country that is 

still developing. However, I also contribute to 

globalization since my textiles can come from 

Italy, India, or Türkiye. By mixing overseas 

material with local talent, I create crossbreeding 

that promotes Moroccan culture along with 

other nation's beauty, and that demonstrates 

the fact that togetherness and unity can be 

reached without losing individuality. 

If someone gave you $500, what would you do 

with it? 

I would start by exchanging it into dirhams 

because, you know, I benefit from the 

conversion and then I will simply give it back. 

Nowadays, we are so focused on our busy lives 

that we forget the beautiful feeling that occurs 

within us when we think about others (someone 

who is not related to us in any way). So, I will 

give some to a cause that matters to me, some 

to the needy in my city, and keep 10% of it for 

myself – only as a lucky charm. 


It all starts within me. I try to have healthy habits, 

including exercising, mindful eating, keeping the 

heart soft and light, and sound sleep patterns. 

I cannot stress that last one enough. I am not 

a big makeup girl, but I do believe a lot in 

hydration (water, cream, sunscreen, cleansing, 

facials) to take considerate care of my skin. 

Pampering your body (oil massages, exfoliation, 

and letting the toxins out with sauna sessions) 

will show your inner and outer beauty. As I 

mentioned in the beginning, l believe nature is, 

most of the time, all we need. 

What is something you love now that you 


the past? 

Soccer! My husband was a huge fan of football. 

He used to watch matches on TV and then yelled 

throughout each game. I was really confused 

about it and did not understand his fondness 

for the game. Life can be very unpredictable; 

I started to go with my younger son to his 

soccer games. He inherited that passion from 

his father. Game after game, I felt such a 

growing fire within myself for football that I 

started to play with my son. Now, I even watch 

games with him. Funny, isn’t it? 

Page 23 

Two of Samira's beautiful creations (top left and right) 

Doha’s fashion show (bottom left) 

Black djellaba made and worn by Samira (bottom right) 


profile 

Fashion Inspired by 

Nature 

Mariachiara Giacomel, AWA Rome, explains how her childhood hometown 

inspired her to create her own clothing label, Eliot. 

Mariachiara Giacomel 

I 

was born and raised in Cortina d’Ampezzo, 

a beautiful town in the Dolomites in the 

Veneto region of Italy. Looking back now, I 

can say with certainty that I was very lucky 

to grow up where I did. Constant contact 

with nature and the outdoors, coupled with the 

open space and sense of freedom associated 

with growing up between mountains and fields, 

had a very positive effect on me. It ingrained 

important life lessons, ethics and practical 

knowledge in me that have proven fundamental 

in my adult life. The initial seed that germinated 

into Eliot came from my childhood in Cortina. 

I attended university in Bologna, earning a 

degree in Economics followed by a European 

Master’s degree in Law and Economics. My 

professional career started with an internship 

at Enel and continued in different fields. For 

more than 10 years I worked for a small 

investment bank at the Rome office in 

administration, accounting and compliance. 

In 2014, I joined Kering group (Brioni) as a 

financial controller working directly under the 

CFO in the Rome headquarters. 

During my time at the investment bank, I met 

my partner and father of my children, Alex. 

Giulia was born in 2018 and Tea in 2020. 

Professionally. my career took a “non-creative” 

path, but all that changed when I made a trip 

home, during my second maternity 

leave, that started the “snowball” 

that became Eliot. There I found 

some of my childhood drawings and 

sketches. Not just any drawings but 

clothing sketches: models 

Mariachiara 

and her 

husband Alex 

and children 

Giulia and Tea 


sporting different looks, wearing pants, shirts, 

jackets and more that I had “designed”. It was mere 

coincidence that during those months I had been 

thinking about maternity wear and how I could not 

find anything I liked for various reasons: style, quality 

and price. Those sketches, made with childhood 

creativity, awakened something within me and forced 

me to question many things in my professional and 

personal life. With 

Alex’s help, I left 

Brioni in the fall 

of 2021 and the 

brainstorming 

began. We 

researched 

materials, fabrics, 

and production 

partners while 

forming a business 

plan that would 

eventually become 

Eliot - a family name 

from Alex's side of 

the family that he 

shares as a middle 

name with both of 

Two childhood sketches 

where the “seeds” of Eliot 

grew (left) 

our daughters. My mother-in-law spoke to me 

of earlier Eliot women who were strong-willed 

and independent (in an era where that was 

not common). While the brand is Eliot, the 

website and the Instagram account are 

gteliot (Giulia, Tea). I like to think that our 

girls seeing us build something of our own 

is educational and inspirational. In the end 

we are doing it for them. I also liked how it 

sounded phonetically: short and can be 

pronounced well in multiple languages. 

As with many startups, the first months were 

tough: a whirlwind of fabric samples, logo 

design, product sketches, sample production 

and testing, accompanied by a roller coaster 

of emotions from doubt to euphoria. We had 

underestimated the effort it would require 

to get attention and eyes on our project. 

Sales were not constant, marketing costs 

were high and we had doubts that we would 

be able to gain traction. The key has been to 

keep going, constantly “planting seeds” that 

eventually would yield results. Perseverance 

and dedication have paid off and continue to 

do so. 

Mariachiara and her sister, Manuela, near 

their childhood home of Cortina D'Ampezzo. 

Photo taken by Mariachiara's father. (below) 

These first two years of Eliot have been a 

rewarding yet challenging uphill battle. I have 

learned a lot, not only about our market and 

niche, but also about myself. My wish is for Eliot 

to continue to grow and prosper while keeping 

our founding values of quality, sustainability 

and uniqueness. 

Tell us about your earliest experience 

with fashion. 

My experience with fashion began around the 

age of nine when I decided to buy myself a 

beautiful notebook with my pocket money so 

that I could draw and bring to life to all the ideas 

I had in my mind ... thus starting to give free 

rein to my creativity! I stole all the glossy fashion 

magazines from my aunts and studied them for 

hours, dreaming and trying to imagine my line! 


Such a simple yet difficult and complex question 

to answer briefly! While I think this definition 

has changed for me over the years, presently I 

believe that fashion should put the needs and 

wants of the person wearing it before the 

impressions of those observing it (not that those 

aren’t important as well). In short, it means that 

clothing should transmit a feeling of freedom, 

confidence and well-being to the person 

wearing it that I believe will be transmitted to 

the “outside” world. While fashion should also 

be daring and not afraid to go outside the box, 

the energy, radiance and confidence of a woman 

at ease is the best “dress” one can have! 



A wardrobe should be a mix of functional, 

practical and comfortable with a pinch of 

aspirational/dream. With that in mind, in every 

wardrobe of a woman there must be: 

1. A dress that makes her dream … 

(and I'm working on it!) 

2. A piece that is her comfort zone, that she 

can't wait to wear as soon as she can to feel 

pampered (I started from this idea with Eliot!) 

3. A timeless classic item that can be worn 

with anything: the T-shirt! 



All women aspire to be elegant and fashionable 

and, without understanding the true meaning 

of this term, they buy (and throw away!) tons 

of clothes, bags and shoes in a lifetime as they 

chase different trends. Then a woman arrives 

at a dinner wearing a perfect classic that is in 

harmony with her essence and everyone 

notices her. Why? Because true elegance is 

within us: in our gestures, way of speaking 

and how we are with others. If we look good in 

our clothes, we will always be elegant and 

fashionable. This can be achieved by buying 

fewer quality pieces that can be used in various 

outfits or by adding small accessories or 

modifications to older clothes. Avoid cheap fast 

fashion clothes that are usually thrown away 

after one season, and don’t be afraid to “play” 

with your wardrobe! 

How have your fashion choices changed 

through the years? 

No more corsets, lace, complicated long dresses 

and enough with impulsive purchases in the 

big low-cost chains. I favor a functional and 

minimalist wardrobe that makes me feel free to 

move, live and love! 

As I mentioned before, I find myself buying (and 

thinking of/creating) pieces that have simple, 

soft lines that rest on the body and let skin 

breathe. This brings me to another important 

point which is fabric selection and quality. Many 

brands that I once favored I would not buy from 

now. Why? The fabric used just does not feel 

good on my skin. Before worrying about how 

others will see me, I need to feel comfortable! 

How can fashion adapt to different body types? 

Fashion must be for everyone! That's why I love 

simple and soft lines that, leaning gently on 

the body, enhance it and make it even more 

beautiful. There is no perfect size, but there is a 

model of dress that can fit all, and this is what I 

continue to study and research in my work with 

Eliot. Furthermore, I think that it is the individual 

who must adapt their fashion choices to their 

body. Sizing is subjective to the person wearing 

it. Forget about what the size label says and 

judge a piece of clothing on how it looks and 

makes you feel when you wear it. 




Buy in a targeted way and discover the three 

words that define your style. First ask “Who am 

I? What do I like? Why do I like it?” If you don't 

know how to answer, first see what you have in 

the closet, what word would you use to define 

the things you wear every day? For me that word 


is EASY. The second word comes from what 

inspires you. For me it is MINIMALIST. The last 

word is given by emotion, by the feeling you are 

looking for in a dress. For me it is ELEGANCE. 

This is obviously not an exact science, but it can 

help us adopt a more sustainable approach to 

our wardrobe, avoiding waste. 

Make intelligent, conscious and intelligent 

purchases by buying only things that you need 

and like that will last over time. This can mean 

spending more initially but you will save in the 

long run. 

If someone gave you $500, what would you 

do with it? 

In this moment of my life, I would invest it into 

Eliot. While not a huge sum, for a small startup 

every little bit helps and currently Eliot is my 

focus as I want to see it grow and flourish! 



I would relive the trip I took to Japan when I 

was 12 to see those places that seemed magical 

to me and to remind me of the sensations I 

experienced living in a dimension totally 

different from mine without my family. This trip 

was organized by a volunteer organization that 

organizes travel and cultural exchanges for kids! 

What’s the milestone you’re working 

towards right now in your personal or 

professional life? 

Presently I am working to grow Eliot from a 

small startup into an established reality as 

both a personal and professional goal. Eliot 

gives me the flexibility to spend quality time 

with my family while slowly rewarding me 

professionally as well. With Eliot the personal 

and professional have become intertwined. It 

would be an immense satisfaction for me 

both personally and professionally for Eliot to 

succeed. Furthermore, I can already see the 

effects of my choices on my daughters, who 

are starting to realize that their mother doesn’t 

work a “regular” job. I hope this example will 

one day inspire them to take a chance and 

follow their dreams. 

All the fashion photos on page 29 are of Mariachiara's 

designs from her clothing label, Eliot. 


feature 

A Club Inspires: Rome 

FAWCO Representative Erica 

Zmitrovitch introduces us to 

FAWCO’s American Women’s 

Association of Rome (AWAR). 

AWAR was founded in 1955 

and is part of Region 8. 

AWAR 2023-2024 Executive Board. Left to right Megan Todd, 

treasurer, Wendy Holloway, president, Liz Grauman, vice 

president, Victoria Clasen, secretary 

The American Women’s Association of 

Rome (AWAR) was founded in 1955 at 

the suggestion of then US ambassador 

to Italy, Clare Boothe Luce. 

AWAR was founded as a non-political, 

non-sectarian and not-for-profit organization 

with the purpose of creating a stimulating 

context in Rome where women could interact, 

network and share life experiences. 

AWAR is committed to sustaining an inclusive 

culture that embraces and celebrates our 

differences and diverse backgrounds. 

Participating in AWAR offers 

unique opportunities for personal 

enrichment and connection to 

the community. 

How many members do you have and what is 

their nationality? Are they mainly expats or 

not? Is there a theme for why they are there? 

AWAR currently has 170 members – 65% 

American, 35% from over 20 different countries. 

The majority of AWAR’s members are American 

women who have come to Rome from a variety 

of countries. The organization is composed of 

professional women, diplomats, artists, authors, 

historians, chefs, translators, creators, business 

owners, homemakers and citizens of the world. 

AWAR does not have a specific theme. Some 

members have come for career reasons, some 

for family and others purely to fulfill their dream 

to live in Rome. 

How does the club run? Elected board with 

lots of candidates for each post? Begging 

people to participate? Committees/teams? 

AWAR holds an annual election for the board. 

Elected positions are filled for one or two years. 

Piazza Navona 

looking down 

onto one of the 

30 

three fountains 


Each year, a nominating committee 

seeks volunteers from the 

membership to be candidates for 

the board. Candidates are not 

required to have experience. Elective 

board members collaborate as a 

cohesive team, often with an 

assigned co-chair to create a 

positive and productive environment 

that enables effective teamwork. 

Members of AWAR are encouraged 

to volunteer their time chairing an 

activity or being a board member, 

with the knowledge that teamwork 

is fundamental to the success of the 

overall goals of the board. 

Throughout AWAR’s history, board 

positions have consistently been 

filled despite members’ busy 

schedules. Keeping the organization 

animated is attributed to the 

conscious effort made to 

accommodate the different 

schedules of its members. 

Does your club have a signature 

event? Tell us about it. 

AWAR has traditionally organized 

a special annual September 

opening event to commence the 

organization’s year and welcome 

members back from summer 

vacation. The event is organized 

with our friends from the US 

Embassy in Rome as special guests. 

A springtime gala event is organized 

from time to time to raise funds for 

our community services projects. 

Opening event in September 2022. 

US Embassy Chargé d’Affaires addresses AWAR 

members and is flanked by Vice-Consul, 

AWAR President Wendy Holloway and Vice 

President Liz Grauman. (top left) 

Violinist Robert McDuffie (middle left) 

FAWCO Chair 2023/2025 Erica Zmitrovich (in 

the green checked shirt), AWAR President 2022- 

2024 Wendy Holloway and other AWAR 

members (bottom left) 

The “Italian Glamour” Activity Group visits the 

atelier of elite fashion designer Camillo Bona, 

October 2021. (page 33) 

What other kinds of events do you have in 

your club? How often, who organizes, is there 

a fee? 

The AWAR elected board organizes monthly 

events and activities throughout the month to 

suit members’ interests, passions and schedules. 

Monthly events include lunch, dinner or aperitivo 

events. A guest speaker is often 

hosted during AWAR monthly 

events. Past speakers have 

included ambassadors, 

artists, authors, doctors, 

economists, journalists, film 

personalities, creators 

and professors. 

AWAR also offers tailored, 

monthly in-person activities 

for lovers of food and wine, day 

trips and tours, cooking courses, 

conversation groups, hiking 

and walking get-togethers 

and games (bridge, burraco, 

Scrabble and mahjong). 

Online events include a book 

club, film discussion and 

opera appreciation. 

AWAR’s events and activities 

are open to members only, but 

members are encouraged to 

bring a guest and invite women 

to get acquainted with other 

like-minded women and 

perhaps join the organization. 

Members are required to make 

a "donation" for most of the 

monthly events to cover 

expenses, whereas most AWAR 

activities are free of charge. 

Do you raise money for any 

particular cause - what is it 

and why does your club care 

about it? What do you do to 

raise money? 

AWAR makes funds available to 

the American Citizens in 

Distress Fund in collaboration 

with the US Consulate in Rome. 

These funds provide stopgap 

assistance to Americans in Rome who find 

themselves in need of emergency support 

(lost passport, medical emergency, emergency 

transportation or lodging.) This fund aids the 

Consulate in providing immediate cash resources 

when needed. 

Other AWAR Community Service initiatives 

include donations to women’s and children’s 

charities. AWAR raises funds through 

membership initiatives and sometimes through 

special events, for example a gala or an auction. 

Effective September 2023, AWAR plans to expand 

its initiatives to include collaboration with other 

organizations and businesses, and to support 

sustainability-focused activities. 


Amanda Drolliger, AWC Central Scotland 

(in foreground), speaking to AWAR in Rome 

about the Awesome Blossoms Target 

Project. AWAR members (left to right:) 

Elizabeth Goletti, Giulia Di Ruscio, Jennifer 

Landini, Wendy Holloway, Thelma Gambino 

Tell us a little about your city 

and country in general? Is it as 

you imagined? What is/isn’t as 

you thought? 

One of the most beautiful cities 

in the world, Rome is a living 

museum with new things to 

discover every day. It is rich in 

culture and history, not to mention 

delicious food. It is easy to travel 

and explore Italy from Rome. Rome 

is only 24 kilometers from the 

seaside, which makes for wonderful 

day trips. 

What was your own favorite activity/event 

last year and why? 

A favorite membership activity is always 

the annual opening event, the first of the 

membership year, and one that enjoys the 

highest attendance. It is a moment to reconnect 

after the summer, discuss plans for the 

upcoming year and enjoy the friendship and 

sisterhood that AWAR offers. 

What else would you like us to know about 

your club? What have we forgotten to ask? 

AWAR serves as a resource for its members. 

It is a place where members offer each other 

support, which can range from asking for a 

plumbing reference to seeking career advice. 

Our Resources Listserv is an excellent tool for 

exchanging information. 

Our membership is composed of women from 

all different lifestyle, cultural and professional 

backgrounds. It is truly a gift to have access to 

such an abundance of resources from women 

who want to support each other. 

As Rome is a city, walking and 

driving in the historic center 

presents challenges. In addition, 

it isn’t always easy to navigate 

your way through the Italian 

bureaucracy in everyday life. That’s 

where AWAR comes in handy as a 

support system to help members 

face all of these challenges. 

Are there any undiscovered gems in your city 

and or country? 

There are an abundance of undiscovered gems! 

The wonderful thing about living in Italy is that 

each city/village has its own story and charm. 

The country's history is never-ending, and 

even the simplest of towns has a significant 

importance to the evolution of the country. 

The most fascinating thing about Italy is that the 

geographical landscape is very rich and varied. 

You can spend a day in the beautiful Dolomite 

mountains and be on one of the most beautiful 

seasides the following day. 

Are there any unusual/interesting traditions 

or traits of the locals? 

Italians are very family-oriented and attached to 

their traditions. Their love for food and culture is 

inspiring. They have been able to carry forward 

traditions for generations. They are very proud 

of their birthplace, hometown traditions and 

sports teams. 


Mark Your 

CALENDAR 

! 

October 4, 2023 

The FAWCO UN and Human Rights Teams are joining forces 

in a webinar in celebration of the 75 th Anniversary of the 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

It is also midway to the 2030 Sustainable Development 

Goals (SDGs), and we'll discuss the status of SDG5: 

“Gender Equality.” 

Use this link to register 

Event Sponsor 


profile 

Fashion with a 

Conscience 

The designs of Andrea Saieh Jimenez, AWC Bogotá, prove that fashion can 

be both beautiful and sustainable. 

Igrew up in Barranquilla, Colombia, a 

colorful, musical city on the Atlantic coast 

of the country. Since childhood, I have 

had a close connection with art and music. I 

realized I wanted to design clothes from an early 

age. I also took on student leadership positions 

as an enabler for change and improvement. I 

was captain of my school’s softball team, and 

president of my school’s student council as well. 

These two passions, art and creation, along with 

helping others and making improvements in 

society, have continued to be part of my life. 

After high school, I moved to East Lansing, 

where I went to school at Michigan State 

University. My parents weren’t too excited 

about my becoming a designer, so I went to 

business school and got an undergraduate 

degree in Marketing. I was a member of the 

School of Business’ Student Senate, and 

co-founded the MSU Entrepreneurship 

Association, which still exists today. 

Andrea Saieh Jimenez 

Afterward, I decided to move to Los Angeles to 

get an Associate degree in Fashion Design from 

the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising 

(FIDM.) This opened my eyes to the future, to a 

life in design. I won two Cotton Inc. Scholarship 

competitions, one on the demands of denim and 

the other one on cotton surface embellishments. I 

then spent a year in Miami working in a 

Diane von Furstenberg boutique 

in Bal Harbour. Then an internship 

with Marchesa took me to New 

York, where I later decided to go 

back to school and study Fashion 

Andrea in 

Chilean 

Patagonia, 2017 


Design at one of the best fashion 

schools in the world, Parsons. New 

York and Parsons showed me who 

I was as a person and a designer. 

I wanted to make designs that 

had a strong impact on society. 

My mission was to empower 

others through my designs, to 

make people feel secure and 

fearless. I also had an interest in 

sustainable design. That’s where 

I came upon the book Cradle to 

Cradle, by William McDonough and 

Michael Braungart, a manifesto 

that became my favorite book, 

and gave me a new perspective 

on sustainability. 

My thesis at Parsons was 

empowering footwear with a 

sustainable angle. It won the 

CFDA +2016 award of the Council 

of Fashion Designers of America, 

among the fifty best portfolios in 

fashion worldwide, and was one of 

ten finalists for the CFDA and Kenneth 

Cole Footwear Innovation Award. 

Working at Parsons, 

2014 (above) 

Council of Fashion 

Designers of America 

2016 Award (right) 

New York, 2016 (below) 

who wears them. This past month 

was my first fashion show at 

Bogotá Fashion Week, and it was 

amazing to show my designs to a 

wider audience. 

Last year I was part of a fellowship 

in New York with a non-profit, 

Open Style Lab. I had the 

challenging task of designing 

clothes with a group of five other 

designers for people with Spinal 

Muscular Atrophy (SMA). This 

has opened the door for me to 

continue pursuing this work 

here in Colombia. I’m currently 

working with a business partner 

to research and create solutions 

for companies to include an inclusive 

fashion line for people with disabilities. 

In addition to my business and my 

project for inclusive design in Colombia, 

I’ve been teaching fashion design 

for the past year to first-year students 

at a top design university here in 

Colombia, Universidad de Bogotá Jorge 

Tadeo Lozano. 

I currently live in Bogotá with my boyfriend. I 

had moved back to Colombia from the US in 

2017 because my artist visa wasn’t approved 

that year. After eleven years of building a life 

in the US, I had to start 

again here in Colombia. It 

wasn’t easy. I moved back 

to Barranquilla, where I 

realized that a job in 

fashion in Colombia 

wasn’t going to be an 

option because the pay 

was bad for my level of 

experience and expertise, 

so in 2018 I decided to 

start a clothing line. 

This was a turning point 

in my life. It’s been five 

years since I started my 

brand, and it’s been an 

amazing journey. I design 

clothes inspired by 

modernity and Japanese 

aesthetics to 

communicate strength 

and empower anyone 

First week of school 

for Andrea at Parsons, 

2013 (top) 

Parsons Graduation, 

F train subway, New 

York, 2016 (middle) 

Parsons graduation, 

Andrea and her father 

(left) 

Bogotá has been a great city for me, a 

place where I feel I belong, just as I did 

in New York. I believe in the projects 

that I’m working on, and I’m certain that 

they will develop into greater things. My parents 

are in Barranquilla, so it’s nice to be able to see 

them more often, and my older sister lives in 

New York. 


Fashion is a way of expression, a language. It 

allows people to connect with society and at the 

same time connect with their own self. Fashion 

gives us a sense of independence because when 

we dress, we alone choose what to wear and 

what we want to communicate to society with 

our choices. 



Go-to black pants or jeans, a basic black top, 

and a little black dress. Having the first two in 

your closet will allow you to mix and match with 

statement tops, pants or skirts, for everyday 

wear. As for the dress: you always need a great 

modern timeless black dress in your closet that 

you can wear for any occasion. Dresses are a 

powerful statement. 


Bogotá Fashion Week, May 2023 


the world? 

I give people tools, "designs" to express and 

communicate who they are. As a designer I am 

of service to society. I help people fulfill their 

needs and desires. People will always need 

protection for their bodies, and it is my job to 

give them this protection and allow them to 

make it part of their identities through style 

and design. 


I designed an outfit for my brand that has 

become the signature look: a pair of pleated 

pants and pleated top called the Manhattan 

Pants and Manhattan Top. The outfit was 

inspired by the New York woman who never 

stops and never gives up on her dreams and 

ambitions. It’s a comfortable two-piece outfit 

that draws elements from modernity and 

Japanese aesthetics. Its elongated shoulders 

and geometric lines give the feeling of power. 

This is my favorite outfit in the whole world. 



I would go back to trips I’ve taken in the past 

because I love to explore different cultures 

and foods. 


with it? 

I’d probably invest it in my business. 


Whatever makes you feel confident and strong, 

do that. 



the past? 

Being back in my home country. I never thought 

I would come back, but in the past few years 

I’ve come to discover a new side to the society I 

knew in my childhood. 



I think sustainability within fashion has been 

greatly misunderstood over the past years. 

Being sustainable doesn’t just mean wearing 

cotton, linen, what we call eco-friendly materials 

or not wearing leather. It is much more than 

that. With materials, it’s only sustainable if you 

truly know the origin of the fibers. You can be 

wearing 100% organic cotton, and ignore that 

the mutated seeds used require more pesticide 

than is healthy for the farmers. What’s the point 

of organic if it harms people? Also, wearing 

vegan products is not good if the products are 

synthetic. Sustainability means taking care of the 

world and that includes humans. 

I recommend that people create their own 

thought process on how they can each be 

more sustainable with their fashion choices. 

Don’t cloud yourself with marketing or with 

what companies tell you is sustainable. Get 

informed and make that decision yourself. 

Buying timeless pieces is an idea on how to stay 

fashionable while making good choices. Clothes 

you can take care of and keep in your closet for 

your whole life. Also, fix your clothes and shoes 

instead of throwing them out – or give them to 

someone who will use them. Buy from local 

designers or brands that have traceability 

instead of fast fashion brands or producers. 

How can fashion adapt to different body types? 

I’ve come to realize that the most important 

thing is that a person feels great and 

comfortable with what they’re wearing. Clothes 

can be adapted to specific functional needs 

and this can be done through research. When 

working with a client, learning their functional 

needs comes first, but just as important is 

knowing what their style needs are. 




We live in a very diverse world and fashion 

should ideally be marketed to everyone. The 

more present diversity is, the more we learn to 

embrace it. 




I would tell her to invest in great basics so that 

she can mix and match with statement pieces 

she finds along the way. Local independent 

designers usually have impeccable quality and 

aren’t as expensive as well-known brands. 

Cotton Inc. Scholarship, 

Demands of Denim, 2010 

Double Take fashion show, Genentech 

and Open Style Lab, Spring 2023 


profile 

Showcasing Heritage 

Through Fashion 

Yerie Mary Kamara, IWC Moldova, shares how her childhood in Sierra 

Leone has influenced her life in fashion. 

My life journey began on February 23, 

1981, at the 34 Military Hospital in 

Freetown, Sierra Leone. I spent my 

childhood at the Wilberforce Barracks 

1st Battalion, where my father served 

in the army. I grew up in an extended family 

with two of my father’s wives. Initially, I had four 

siblings, but sadly, I lost my elder brother later 

on. Both my primary and secondary schools 

were military-owned institutions. At home, I had 

numerous cousins, and we all lived together in 

a three-bedroom house. The girls had their own 

room, while the boys slept in the living room. 

Instead of referring to my cousins as cousins, we 

considered ourselves sisters and brothers due 

to the way we were brought up. I always looked 

up to my elder female cousins as big sisters, and 

they treated me and my siblings the same way. 

This was during the war in my country, so my 

father, who was a paymaster, would often be 

away at the end of each month to pay the 

soldiers. Since there was no banking system 

for the soldiers at that time, payments were 

made in person. Whenever my dad was absent, 

I worried, fearing it might be the last time I 

would see him. I shared a close bond with my 

father, and my siblings always knew I was his 

favorite because he named me after his mother. 

Yerie Mary Kamara 

Growing up at the barracks was an enjoyable 

experience, but the surrounding 

communities held negative 

stereotypes about people from 

the barracks. This was particularly 

true for girls, who often ended up 

getting pregnant as teenagers and 

A special dress to 

celebrate Yerie's 

40th birthday 


failing to complete their education. I was 

determined not to fall prey to that stereotype 

so I worked hard in school and was able to finish 

my education. 

I completed my college education in 2004, and 

the following year, in 2005, I secured a position 

at the largest and most established bank in the 

country. This opportunity filled me with 

excitement as I was assigned to work at one of 

the bank’s branches in a different city. It marked 

the first time I left the comfort of my parents’ 

Yerie with husband and children in Chisinau 

home and ventured out on my own. Since I 

began my employment working at the bank, I 

have never returned to live with my parents. 

This transition was a bittersweet moment for 

me, as there were times after work when I would 

find myself crying in my room, overwhelmed 

with homesickness. However, over time, I 

gradually overcame those feelings. I remained 

employed with Sierra Leone Commercial Bank 

for five years. 

I first met my spouse while celebrating my 

birthday with friends. I remember being slightly 

intoxicated and quite talkative and we became 

good friends. Eventually, we transitioned into a 

romantic relationship, and, after several years 

of dating, we decided to marry. Due to my 

husband’s job posting in Chisinau, we relocated 

to Moldova as a family. We are blessed with two 

wonderful children, twins, a boy and a girl. Since 

I am unable to work in Moldova as a diplomat’s 

family member, I chose to engage in charitable 

work and joined the International Women’s Club 

of Moldova. 

Given my passion for fashion, 

I conceived a charitable 

initiative through a fashion 

show, aiming to showcase my 

homeland’s heritage and 

promote my country. 

Consequently, we organized 

the first-ever African Fashion 

Show for charity in Moldova. 

The event took place at the 

Museum of History, where 

I had the privilege of 

presenting them with a 

representative garment from 

my heritage, known as 

country cloth – a locally 

crafted garment woven from 

natural wool and dyed 

using plant-based colors. This 

unique Sierra Leonean dress 

now hangs proudly in the 

historical museum. 

Tell us about your earliest 

experience with fashion. 

My earliest encounter with 

fashion occurred during my 

teenage years when I 

participated in my first beauty 

contest. I vividly recall my 

beauty coach, who assisted me with various 

outfits, selecting one that did not complement 

my body type. I respectfully expressed my 

concerns, stating that the dress was not suitable 

for my petite frame. I inquired if it would be 

possible for me to have a say in choosing 

dresses that flatter my body features and colors 

that harmonize with my skin tone. Agreeing with 

my suggestion, she proceeded to help me select 

all the necessary outfits for the contest. At that 

moment, she acknowledged my keen fashion 

sense by remarking, “You have a good eye for 

fashion.” For me, fashion holds significance in 

terms of my identity, allowing me to express 

myself and represent my beliefs. 

Models showing Yerie's creations 

for her first-ever African Fashion 

Show in Moldova. 



Fashion, to me, encompasses my identity 

and serves as a means of self-expression, 

reflecting my beliefs, emotions and thoughts. 

It allows me to exude confidence and joy in 

my attire, irrespective of others’ opinions, 

judgments or appearances. The confidence I 

feel in what I wear is paramount, as it empowers 

me to embrace my personal style without 

concern for external perceptions. In this way, 

fashion becomes a source of unity, bringing 

people together. For an enthusiast like me, 

fashion represents a way to communicate and 

connect with others. It allows me to convey my 

personality, mood and individuality to the world. 

Through clothing choices, accessories, 

hairstyles and makeup, I can curate a unique 

visual identity that reflects my taste, values 

and aspirations. 



There are three essential components every 

woman should have in her wardrobe. 

1. Confidence. If a woman possesses the 

confidence to wear any outfit, it will make her 

feel comfortable and exude self-assurance. 

2. A well-fitting bra. A good bra is crucial for 

providing support and lifting the breasts, even 

for those with smaller busts who may benefit 

from additional padding, allowing women to 

wear beautiful outfits with ease. 

3. A collection of basic garments is essential, 

including timeless pieces like classic jeans, a 

little black dress, white T-shirts, white 

sneakers, sleek leggings, sweaters, summer 

sandals, tank tops and button-ups. Having 

these versatile items will complement the 

existing contents of your wardrobe effortlessly. 

How have COVID-19 and environmental 


COVID-19 disrupted global supply chains, 

leading to production and distribution 

challenges for fashion brands. Many factories 

and retail stores temporarily closed, resulting 

in a decline in sales and financial difficulties 

for the industry. The closure of physical stores 

also accelerated the shift to online shopping. 

Consumer behavior changed, with a greater 

emphasis on comfort, loungewear and casual 

clothing as people spent more time at home. 

Sustainability concerns were also highlighted 

during the pandemic, prompting discussions 

Yerie with Elena Postica, deputy director of historical culture, and Livia Sirbu 

about overconsumption, waste and the need 

for more ethical and responsible practices 

in fashion. 

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting 

industries globally. Environmental issues, such 

as water pollution, deforestation, greenhouse 

gas emissions and textile waste, have gained 

more attention. As a result, there has been 

an increased focus on sustainable and 

eco-friendly practices. Fashion brands are 

adopting measures like using organic or recycled 

materials, implementing ethical sourcing, 

reducing waste through circular economy 

initiatives and promoting transparency in their 

supply chains. 

Prioritize quality and durability: Invest in 

high-quality clothing that is well-made and 

designed to last. Avoid fast fashion trends and 

focus on timeless pieces that can be worn for 

multiple seasons. 

Buy secondhand or vintage: Explore thrift stores, 

consignment shops, or online platforms for 

pre-loved fashion. Buying second hand not only 

reduces the demand for new production but 

also gives existing garments a longer lifespan. 

Support sustainable fashion brands: Look for 

fashion brands that prioritize sustainability, 

ethical practices and transparency. Check for 

certifications like Fair Trade, GOTS (Global 

Organic Textile Standard) or B Corp. 



Choose sustainable materials: Opt for clothing 

made from organic or recycled materials, such 

as organic cotton, hemp or recycled polyester. 

Avoid fabrics that have a high environmental 

impact, such as conventional cotton or synthetic 

materials like virgin polyester. 

Yerie and Livia Sirbu, deputy director of the 

Historical Museum of Moldova, signing a document 

of agreement for the African dress, bags and slippers 

presented to the museum (page 48) 

Practice mindful consumption: Before making a 

purchase, consider whether you truly need the 

item and how often you will wear it. Avoid 

impulse buying and aim for a minimalist 

wardrobe with versatile pieces that can be mixed 

and matched. 

Take care of your clothes: Extend the life of your 

garments by following proper care instructions, 

repairing them when needed and donating or 

recycling them at the end of their life. 


How can fashion adapt to different 

body types? 

Size-inclusive designs: Fashion brands can offer 

a wide range of sizes to cater to different body 

types. This includes extending size ranges to 

include plus sizes and designing garments that 

flatter various body shapes. 

Diverse representation: The industry needs 

to embrace diversity in advertising and 

marketing campaigns. Showcasing models 

with different body types helps consumers 

see themselves represented in fashion and 

promotes body positivity. 

Adaptive clothing: Fashion can adapt to different 

physical abilities and needs. Designing clothing 

that considers mobility, ease of dressing, and 

functionality for individuals with disabilities or 

specific conditions can enhance inclusivity. 

Education and awareness: Educating designers, 

stylists and industry professionals about the 

importance of catering to different body types 

can lead to more inclusive and diverse 

fashion offerings. 

Video 

Be consistent. Establishing a skincare routine 

tailored to your skin type and concerns is 

crucial. This typically involves cleansing, toning, 

moisturizing and applying sunscreen daily. 

Additionally, incorporating treatments like 

exfoliation and masks can help rejuvenate 

the skin. A balanced diet, regular exercise 

and sufficient sleep also contribute to healthylooking 

skin. 

What is the milestone you’re working 

towards right now in your personal and 


When it comes to fashion, my personal and 

professional goals are almost invariably intertwined. 

First off, I am constantly working 

towards expanding my industry knowledge by 

staying updated with the latest fashion trends, 

designers and industry news, which is crucial 

for me as a fashionista. I believe reading fashion 

magazines and blogs, and actively engaging with 

the fashion community, help to broaden 

my knowledge and perspective. I also always 

believe in broadening my network, as it plays 

a significant role in the fashion industry. 

Connecting with like-minded individuals and 

organizations like FAWCO, attending industry 

events and building relationships with 

professionals can open doors for collaborations, 

opportunities and mentorship. 

Yerie doing some online shopping. 

Collaboration with influencers and consumers: 

Engaging with influencers and consumers who 

represent a range of body types can provide 

valuable insights and feedback, leading to more 

inclusive designs. 


with it? 

Invest in a statement piece: I would search for a 

high-quality, versatile fashion item to elevate my 

wardrobe. It could be a designer handbag, a pair 

of classic shoes or a timeless coat. Either that or 

I would upgrade my wardrobe staples by 

buying well-fitted jeans, versatile tops or a 

tailored blazer. 

What's your favorite beauty tip? 

Skincare!! Taking care of your skin is essential for 

maintaining a healthy and radiant appearance. 

Celebrating Victorious Spring, a festive monthly 

meeting hosted by the IWC Moldova, raising funds 

to help Ukrainian children. 


feature 

Through My Lens 

"Through My Lens" is a compilation feature 

with a photo and short caption from 

multiple contributors. 

Inspired by the statue La Victoire de 

Samothrace, depicting the goddess of 

victory Nike, to symbolize victory over 

waste, student designer David Demovic 

used thread waste to resemble marble 

in this stunning two-piece dress.The 

outfit offers multiple possibilities to 

wear the skirt or top separately and 

remove the “wings.” 

For this "Through My Lens" feature, we are 

highlighting the Foundation Night Gala at 

the FAWCO Biennial Conference 2023. 

"What is Old is New Again” 

Foundation Night Gala Fashion Show 

FAWCO participants at the gala were treated to a sustainable fashion 

show organized by Plus421 Foundation, The FAWCO Foundation and 

the International Women’s Club of Bratislava (IWCB) in partnership 

with AWA Vienna. The fashion show featured designs by Atelier 71, 

established by Mola Couture head designer Monika Lacekova, who 

has been working in the field of textile design for 30 years. 


Led by haute-couture designer 

Monika Lacekova, these young 

Slovak clothing designers showcased 

their artistic creations based on 

textile recycling and upcycling. 

This hot pink dress was designed 

by Andrea Berdisova. 

Textile recycling involves recovering 

fiber, yarn or fabric and reprocessing 

it into a beautiful new products. 

Ema Ozoganyova designed the 

blouse, lilac pants and lilac 

denim jacket. 


Plus421 Foundation raises awareness 

of Slovak arts, culture and 

humanitarian issues, through art 

exhibitions, performances, educational 

workshops and cultural events. 

Plus421 also supports diverse 

humanitarian causes in Slovakia and 

throughout the world. 

Upcycling is transforming old, worn 

or damaged clothing into exciting 

new fashions. Monika Lacekova 

designed this collection of the 

upcycled men’s shirts, as well as Eva’s 

teal organza outfit on page 56. 


Lauren Mescon, AWC Amsterdam, 

models one of Monika Lacekova's 

upcycled men’s shirts after 

purchasing it at the gala. 

Special thanks to the models: 

Simonetta Hladka, Ema Vrbovski and 

Miss Slovakia finalists 

Sofia Hrivnakova, Jana Vozarova and 

Viktoria Spotakova. 

For Foundation Night, conference participants and guests 

were encouraged to wear their favorite sartorial “blasts from 

the past” (shown on the next five pages). 

Dressed in a sparkling array of vintage regalia, members 

showed off some of their cherished outfits – some “au courant” 

enough to wear today! 

"What is Old is New Again” 

Foundation Night Gala Member Fashions 


Kanika 

Holloway 

AWC Antwerp 

Unique, and fun! 

The 60's Flower 

Power attire! 

Ann 

De Simoni 

AIWC Genoa 

Rozanne 

Van Rie 

AWC Antwerp 

"It's a 

TEE-ARA!!" 

Patricia Jentz 

AWA Kenya 

Cheongsam chic! 

Baroness 

Cynthia Holden 

AWC of Central 

Scotland 


Whitney Edwards 

AWC London 

My-Linh Kunst 

AWC Berlin 

Barbara Bühling 

AWC Düsseldorf 

Elisabeth Tutein 

Nolthenius 

AWC 

The Hague 

Electric rock! 

The power pantsuit! 

Vintage glamor! 

Mary Adams 

AWC The Hague 

The yuppie 

businessman 

look! 

Rick Chizmadia 

FAUSA 


Joan Taugher 

Guest 

Monica Jubayli 

AWC Lebanon 

Desert chic! 

Dress right 

dress! 

Lorraine De Bock 

AWC Brussels 


profile 

Holding Fashion 

Accountable 

Callie Riemann, AWC Hamburg, works hard behind the scenes to make sure 

clothes are produced ethically. 

I 

grew up in a small beach town in 

Connecticut and was constantly either on 

the beach or exploring the woods. When 

I was ten years old, my family went on our 

first out-of-country vacation. We went to Saint 

Martin and stayed in a resort. The rest of my 

family was content with swimming and lying 

on the beach, but I was incredibly restless and 

wanted to explore. I was happiest exploring the 

local markets, chewing on fresh sugar cane and 

feeding the stray dogs. That is when my love 

for traveling and learning about new cultures 

first started. 

After high school, I decided that I had had 

enough of small-town life and was in search 

of a college with more diversity and a warmer 

climate, so I ended up studying social work at 

North Carolina State University. Unfortunately, 

I really didn’t enjoy my college years as much 

as I would have hoped. So I overloaded myself 

with classes and finished in three years instead 

of four so I could leave sooner (that and also 

because of the costs). As much as I enjoyed the 

sunshine and diversity, I realized that I did not 

fit in culturally very well. 

Callie Riemann 

After pursuing my undergraduate degree in the 

US, I was financially broke but wanted to travel. 

I became an au pair for an 

Austrian family of five for about 

six months but wasn’t quite 

ready to leave Europe yet. 

My then boyfriend’s family 

convinced me to get my master’s 

Callie and 

husband Timo 


As a child, Callie, enjoying a coconut on Saint Martin 

(top left) 

Callie with family and four-legged friends (top right) 

Callie and husband appreciate German quality of life 

(bottom left) 

degree in Germany, so I found a free program 

that was completely in English and ended up 

studying Sustainable Development Management 

at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. 

After finishing my studies, I moved to Hamburg 

to finally be in the same city as my then 

boyfriend (we are now married). I found work 

and have been living and working in Hamburg 

for the past six years. I live a happy life with 

my German husband and our silly dog, which 

I fill with travels, pizza nights, gardening 

and photography. 


with fashion. 

Right before finishing my master’s degree, I 

started working for a company that conducts 

social audits for large German textile companies. 

I was lucky enough to get the chance to travel 

to India to become certified as a Social Auditor 

(SA8000). A social auditor verifies the working 

conditions of factories (e.g. ensuring that there 

is no child labor or forced labor, making sure 

that workers are paid according to the law, 

making sure that the workplace is safe, etc.). 

I then audited factories in Bangladesh and 

Enjoying a street performer’s music in traditional costume 

Zimbabwe, gaining my first experiences in 

the world of textiles. Currently I work in the 

Corporate Responsibility Department for a 

German importer and have been given the 

opportunity to audit factories in Türkiye 

(formerly Turkey) and Egypt. 

How has COVID-19 and environmental 


COVID-19 has, at large, resulted in worse 

conditions for textile factory workers and 

made it more difficult for brands to monitor 

compliance with social and environmental 

standards (due to not being able to travel to the 

factories). Since lockdowns have now ended, it 

will be a steady journey to return conditions to 

how they were before COVID-19, and hopefully 

be able to continue to improve them even more. 



I am a proponent of second-hand shopping. It 

is one way to shop without feeling guilty about 

the conditions of the workers who made the 

clothes or about the environmental impact. If 

you are not a fan of second-hand shopping, the 

next best thing to do is buy classic/basic pieces 

you can pair with many outfits, make sure 

that the quality is good and can last you many 

usages, and, finally, not washing with every 

wear can really help (hang your clothes to air 

out between wears). 

Do you prefer shopping online or in person? 

In your opinion, what are the advantages and 

disadvantages of each? 

Honestly, I prefer to shop second-hand and 

online. I use the app called Vinted to get 

quality and affordable second-hand clothing. I 

try to stick to brands where I know my size and 

know that they offer good quality to prevent 

ordering things that I don’t like or that don’t fit 

(extra bonus for ordering from brands that 

support sustainability initiatives, publish their 

supply chain online, have a meaningful 

sustainability report online, etc.). If I find 

something I really like, I will try to order the 

exact same product/brand/size, etc. but maybe 

in another color. 




Again, buying second hand from brands you like 

and trust is the way to go in my opinion. Even if 

the thought of wearing someone else’s clothes 


doesn’t sit well with you, give it a chance and 

filter for “brand new with tag” – some people 

get gifted items or realize later that it doesn’t fit 

right and cannot return the clothes. Instead of 

having them throw the items away, you can 

purchase them for a small price. It is good for 

both the environment and your wallet. 


the world? 

I hope that what I do makes a positive impact on 

the workers who make our clothes. I hope that 

when I sit with workers, that they feel that their 

stories are being heard. After each audit, we 

create an action plan and implement measures 

to improve the working conditions at factories. 

It may not happen overnight, but many in the 

industry have seen positive changes over the 

past decade. 

What is the future of fashion? 

I hope that the future of fashion will be circular, 

meaning that all inputs (e.g. cotton, wood, 

plastic) can be fully recycled, upcycled or 

composted at the end of their lives. This is 

what the industry is moving towards and what 

German and EU legislation is beginning to push 

for. This will involve a rethinking of the entire 

production process, including what materials to 

use, how the item is produced in a way it can be 

easily taken apart and recycled, etc. It will also 

require new technologies in order to recycle 

mixed materials (e.g. cotton-polyester blends). 

It will take a while, but we are headed in the 

right direction. 

How have your travels impacted your 

fashion choices? 

My travels to textile factories around the 

world have made me realize a few things. First 

off being: less is more. I try to keep my closet 

minimal and simple, using jewelry and scarves 

to give an outfit a pop instead of many 

statement clothing items. Secondly, being in 

this work really made me realize that paying 

more for a piece of clothing does not mean that 

the workers are paid more. The exact same 

factory workers will be making clothes for 

discounters, H&M and Ralph Lauren and are 

getting paid the exact same wages. Don’t think 

that if you are paying more, that you are doing 

it as a service to the garment workers. If you 

want to make sure that your money is making 

its way down to the most vulnerable workers, 

you have to do a lot of research unfortunately. 


Nivea Matte Face Sunscreen is the best! It is the 

only sunscreen I will use on my face and chest 

since it isn’t oily and doesn’t lead to breakouts. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve 

ever received? 

It seems really simple, but one of my friends 

once told me something along the lines of, “if 

you can’t do anything about it right now, let it 

go and don’t let it stress you.” Sometimes I 

worry about something that already happened, 

or something that will happen in the far future, 

and it is a good reminder to ask myself, can I do 

anything about this right now? If not, let it go. It 

has helped me a lot. 



the past? 

Living in Germany! I grew up reading 

autobiographies from the Holocaust and never 

in my life did I imagine living in Germany. I am 

so glad that I gave it a chance and moved here; 

it has provided so many wonderful opportunities 

and I have a much better quality of life than I 

did previously. 

Getting certified as a social auditor in India (right) 

Learning how the locals carry goods from the market 

during a study abroad trip in Guatemala (below) 

A little sightseeing between auditing factories in Egypt 


profile 

Connecting the Dots 

of a Fashionable Life 

Designer Gaby Basora, Association of American Women in Europe Paris, 

shares her favorite design influences. 

I 

grew up in Seattle, where my mother had 

a cinema in the Pike Place Market. I found 

inspiration everywhere and in everyone – 

friends, parents, my parents' friends, 

teachers and characters in films and books. I 

looked at things and found beauty in the things 

I saw, places I wanted to belong. 

One sad childhood memory stands out. I used 

to take weekly horseback riding lessons. My 

friend’s mother, Sylvie, drove us in her VW 

Beetle to the stables. After we rode it was a 

tradition to get a hamburger at Burgermaster. 

We thought it was the greatest thing to have 

the tray brought to our car, hooked onto the 

window and sit, cramped together smelling 

of stable, eating fries and drinking vanilla 

milkshakes. One rainy day we were sitting 

in the car, windows steamed, listening to the 

radio, when they announced John Lennon 

was assassinated. They played “Imagine.” We 

sat in the car and cried. It was sad but still 

beautiful that we could love John Lennon so 

deeply at nine. 

Gaby Basora 

I left home at 15 to study in Amsterdam, living 

with family friends. The mother of the family, 

Sheryl Ball, was a writer and co-creator of 

Rolling Stone magazine. I was always a reader, 

but it was Sheryl who got me 

into writing. 

On weekends I took the bus to 

Paris to stay with Francine, the 

grandmother of Sylvie, who was 

Handmade 

earrings ... pose 

for it! 


from Paris. Paul Klee once said: “A line 

is a dot that went for a walk.” Well, 

Francine and I went on long walks through 

Paris; sometimes we went to the cinema. 

We didn't really speak to each other, just 

walked and looked. I did not speak French 

yet and she did not speak English. I loved 

walking by her side. 

I had skipped two grades and began 

college in NYC at 16. I assisted fashion 

stylists for magazines and ad campaigns at 

the end of college. I did this for a few years 

and then started to do my own jobs as a 

stylist. I worked on campaigns for Target 

and dressed musicians such as Lauryn Hill. 

I stayed in NYC after graduating from 

Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in 

Creative Writing. Then came marriage and 

babies. I always wanted to be a mother. 

I enjoyed living in NYC very much. I was 

working as a stylist and started a fashion 

brand, Tucker, in 2006. It was a busy, 

bustling, thrilling time with young children 

and a business that was also growing 

and growing. 

It was an extraordinary time of 

possibilities and ideas brought 

to fruition. I feel lucky 

to have created my 

business. I loved my 

work, the work we did 

and the people who 

came to work with me. 

It is a joy to watch their 

careers, personal and 

professional lives 

blossom. My children 

were there in the 

studio, in the office and 

on business trips. In 

2015, I partnered with 

Resonance, who are 

dedicated to 

innovation in the 

fashion industry 

on the side of 

production. We work 

to make things better 

by eliminating waste 

on the production side, 

made to order. It is 

an exciting and 

challenging time. 

I moved to Paris because I had always wanted 

to live in Paris. I just thought it would have been 

sooner. When I walked around Beaubourg with 

Francine all those years ago, passing the Niki 

de Saint Phalle Fountain, I imagined pushing 

my babies in the stroller around this fountain. 

My dear friend, fashion photographer Virginia 

Thoren, believed that in Paris, the beauty of 

the city inspires a certain kind of generosity 

of human interaction. 


with fashion. 

Seeing the women around me, seeing 

characters in film and literature. Falling in 

love with books, stories, music and dance, 

photography and painting. 


Fashion can be just dressing, participating in 

life or expression. It’s a connection, exploration, 

and entertainment. Inherently there is 

something contradictory about fashion – the 

desire for newness and being conscientious 

about the environment – making more. 

Certainly things can be made in less wasteful 

ways and consumers can be less wasteful/ 

insist that things be made with environmentally 

friendly practices or they don't have to 

purchase. This is an important partnership, 

conversation between the brand and customer. 

How has COVID-19 impacted fashion? 

COVID-19 changed a lot. People became more 

flexible, perhaps more courageous. 

How can fashion adapt to different 

body types? 

I think everyone can find ways to incorporate 

things of the moment, colors, cuts of clothes, 

into their looks and then find things they 

feel great in. Loving the way you look can 

be marvelous – a sense of 

self-assuredness! 

Do you prefer shopping online 

or in person? 

Shop in person, see touch, feel, 

try on clothes in a store. Little 

boutiques can be beautiful 

universes – convivial places where 

women meet in neighborhoods. 

How does what you do in fashion 

matter in the world? 

Fashion can be frivolous. Unless 

you think of fashion as how you 

dress in a particular moment, 

to work, to celebrate … then 

fashion is important. For instance, 

the actress Judy Greer said she 

wore Tucker on her first date with 

her husband. 

Page 74 

Motherhood (top) 

Gaby and her mentor Virginia 

Thoren (bottom) 

With the Tucker team at the 

factory in the Dominican Republic. 

(left) 


What is your favorite beauty tip? 

Alexandra Soveral of London! Her Angel Balm 

is a marvelous smelling balm mask you apply 

and then apply heated cloths to create a 

steamy effect. Then wipe clean and you are 

left totally glowing! 


you go? 

I would love to go to Studio 54. 

What is something people may not know 

about you? 

I would like to ride my bike without holding the 

handlebars and to be able to pop a wheelie. 




Work goals, to keep imagining where the 

creativity can be applied and to paraphrase 

Dr. Seuss “Oh! The places we’ll go!” To stay 

involved with the world, caring for loved ones, 

Page 76 

Top row- 

Inspiration comes 

everywhere (left) 

Gaby at her desk 

(right) 

Bottom row- 

Proud of first run 

in the NYC 

marathon (left) 

Posing at a fitting 

(right) 

Page 77 

One of Gaby's 

styling jobs 

featured in Bon 

Appétit (top) 

First shoot in 

Vogue (bottom) 


feature 

In My Own Words - 

A Day in the Life of a 

Fashion Stylist 

Originally from the UK, Nadine 

has lived in Spain with her Spanish 

husband since 2009. Nadine has 

been a member of the Barcelona 

Women's Network (BWN) almost 

from day one. The club activities 

and the dear friends she has made 

have been really important to her. 

She loves being a stylist, and 

she has combined it with charity 

fundraising, both for the club and 

for the refugee NGO she supports. 

The club motto is "Socialising with 

a social purpose", and this is one 

of the many things she loves about 

BWN: the activities directed 

towards helping others. 

Nadine Kazerounian 

Tools of the 

trade, the 

color palette 

I 

trained as an Image Consultant in the 

UK over 20 years ago, sometime after 

I completed my MBA. As part of the 

programme, I had a consultation myself. 

It changed my life in more ways than one. 

Knowing what suited me and how to 

shop for it solved several dilemmas: how to 

dress my heart-shaped body, how to look and 

feel stylish, and how to ensure I always had 

something to wear whatever the occasion. In 

addition, I gained confidence because other 

people responded to me more positively. I’d 

always believed the saying: "Go in looking like 

a winner." And now I knew how to do it. In fact, 

so great was my belief in this process, that I 

changed careers, switching out of management 

training and into starting my own Image 

Consultancy business. I never looked back. 

I call myself "The Style Guide", but clients come 

to me for many reasons, often at change points 

in their lives: divorce, menopause, new career, a 

promotion, a big birthday, or an important event. 

My most recent consultation was with a longstanding 

client who had allowed her hair to 

become its natural grey. We had done a 

colour consultation some years previously, 

and she wanted to know what suited her best 

since the switch from brunette to grey. Using 


her colour palette (mid-toned, cool), we 

systematically went through everything in her 

wardrobe and culled what no longer suited 

her. We ended up with quite a haul. Not least 

because she had (naughtily) bought a lot of 

items without referring to her colour palette 

and ended up with stuff that looked, well … 

not the best. 

A happy personal shopping client (top left) 

Two of Nadine's own "uniform" combinations. 

(middle and bottom left) 

The ultimate light packing technique (below) 

We had a friendly tussle over some items. But 

my question was always this: Why would you 

choose to wear that unflattering item when 

you have so many others that suit you much 

better? The discard pile was huge. But she 

finished the day with a big smile because she 

was now confident that everything she owned 

made her look her best. 

I travel quite frequently, as do many of my 

clients. Their dilemma is always about panicking 

and overpacking “Just in case”. And so, on my 

Facebook business page I often feature blogs 

about planning your trip, what to pack, as well 

as what to wear to travel in. My crusade is to 

encourage others to pack as lightly as possible, 

and a recent discovery was how much I could 

squeeze into an EasyJet under-seat bag if I rolled 

my clothing and packed vertically. This was a 

big hit with my followers, many of whom have 

adopted my packing methods after years of 

overpacking and hauling huge suitcases around. 

This small bag held enough for a week’s visit to 

my family. 

Personal shopping is another service I offer, 

and clients often come to me when they have 

a special event and need something stunning 

to wear. One client – curvy like me – was in 

despair. She found shopping a nightmare and 

could never find things to fit and flatter her. 

The brief was to find her a full-length evening 

dress plus accessories. 

I pre-shopped for her in a large department 

store with a good range of plus size fashions, 

and I picked out three dresses I thought she 

might like. We met up and I had the dresses 

waiting for her in the fitting room. Number 

two was a winner. She absolutely loved it. AND 

it was under budget! So then we popped to 

another floor for shoes, and finally we picked 

out some gorgeous sparkly earrings to finish off 

the look. Done and dusted in just over an hour. 

The outfit was a great success and garnered 

a lot of compliments on the night. I love how 

super-confident and happy she looks. 

The discard pile (top) 

The "keepers" after the culling (bottom) 

If you're tired of all your clothes, you can revive your interest 

in what you already own by being bold and mixing things up. 

First, consider what is your preferred style or "uniform". 

My own is a combination of three items: top, pants or skirt, 

and some sort of jacket or cardigan accessorized with a 

scarf and/or jewelry. I wear it in all weathers because it suits 

my body type (cuts me into three neat vertical slices) and 

takes me anywhere. 

So now for mixing it up. Here are my tips. 

1. Don't be afraid of unusual combinations. 

Pair a crisp button-down shirt with a flowy midi skirt – 

tuck in the shirt and cinch your waist with a belt. 

2. Put color with color and pattern with pattern. 

Experiment with unexpected combinations and see what 

emerges. Take some photos of your outfits to see which 

you like best. 

3. Accessorize. 

I love scarves and jewelry. Dig them all out and look 

at them with fresh eyes. Again, think about unusual 

pairings: layer dramatic necklaces over a plain white shirt, 

pile up the bracelets, wear your most dramatic earrings 

in daytime. Break the rules. Have fun. Channel your 

inner diva. 


feature 

In My Own Words- 

Palm Beach Glam 

"Cloffice" Makeover 

Diane Naveau is from New York 

City, where she obtained her BFA 

in Fashion Design from Parsons 

School of Design and spent over 

20 years working in the fashion 

industry as a visual merchandiser 

and stylist. Diane founded The 

Closet Merchant in 2018 to create 

sustainability in the fashion 

industry by focusing on personal 

style, showing how to create more 

options from what you already 

own, and promoting sustainable 

shopping habits. Diane is a 

member of the American Women’s 

Club of Antwerp and currently 

resides in Antwerp, Belgium with 

her husband, Paul, and new baby 

Jean-Jacques. 

Diane Naveau 

As a visual merchandiser, I worked to 

create the feeling that a customer was 

shopping in their own inspiring closet. 

As a wardrobe consultant, I bring the 

concept of store visual merchandising 

into my client's closet. Creating that “boutique” 

experience with the clothes and furniture my 

clients already have helps them 

see their wardrobe as a 

personalized collection, and it 

solidifies their style identity by 

also reflecting it in their interior 

space. I had the pleasure of 

working with my friend Kanika Holloway, 

business owner and current 2nd VP for 

Member Clubs at FAWCO, to help her sort 

through stored clothes, her current wardrobe, 

and revitalize her home office space. I wanted 

to showcase her fabulous style and keep her 

inspired both when getting dressed, and as she 

is working throughout the day! 

STEP 1: Determine Your Personal Style 

Kanika is an ardent Classic Glamour personal 

style type. She loves looking put together and 

a little (or a lot!) glamorous. One look at her 

Wardrobe 

capsules make 

fabulous 

outfits fun 

82 

and easy 


apartment and this same aesthetic was clear in 

her choice of furnishings and home accessories. 

Kanika was trying to convert a second bedroom 

into an office. I thought the color story and 

space would be great to work with, so I offered 

to not only work on her clothing situation, but 

also to help create a glam "Cloffice"! 

STEP 2: Gather Everything and EDIT 

The next step was to go through her wardrobe 

and storage containers she had been putting 

off going through. She kept her “hanging” 

pieces (silky blouses, some sweaters, dresses, 

dressiest pants) in a beautiful armoire. The rest 

were folded into baskets. Her Fall/Winter and 

Spring/Summer clothing were mixed, although 

the hanging pieces did flow by color. 

We began editing the storage containers as this 

was the initial problem to be solved. We sorted 

the items into Discard to the thrift shop, Discard 

to recycling, Keep that can be washed at home 

and Keep that needs dry cleaning and/or 

tailoring. Next, I sorted the Keep files into Winter 

and Summer so she could get the "wear now" 

pieces cleaned as soon as possible and the cold 

weather items later. 

Then I quickly separated the clothes from the 

armoire that Kanika wore more regularly by 

season, themes and colors. 

STEP 3: Create Wardrobe Capsules 

I created two Spring/Summer capsules: a 

Palm Beach Glam collection and a sophisticated 

and feminine collection based on black, white, 

blush and gold. Kanika clearly had fabulous 60s, 

Palm Beach inspired pieces with flowy dresses, 

blouses and pants in bright colors and mod 

prints as well as several retro-feeling cocktail 

dresses. Kanika is also someone who shops 

for "needs," like a particular meeting or event, 

mentally limiting her outfit options. When you 

know everything in your wardrobe, you will 

know what you buy will work with things that 

you already own ... 

The method I use to "merchandise" a wardrobe 

includes hanging as many items as possible for 

the most clarity on what you own. When you 

After 

Before 

see items near each other that you normally 

wouldn’t, you often come up with more outfit 

ideas and get the most use out of your 

existing wardrobe. 

STEP 4: Designing the Space 

After creating the basic capsules, I planned 

what I needed to create the Closet/Office to 

fit with Kanika’s personal style and keep her 

inspired and empowered. With a few Ikea 

purchases (rolling racks, two wall shelves, rugs, 

decorative baskets, a light fixture, pillow covers 

and hooks), some rearranging and re-purposing, 

I was able to create a whole new space without 

a huge budget. 

I differentiated the capsule collections with gray 

and pink velvet hangers. These color-coded 

hangers help create space as well as keep items 

from slipping off, and as items get worn, you can 

see where the empty hangers are and replace 

items to their spot. I organized her shoes and a 

few accessories around the appropriate capsule. 

The space turned out quite glamorous and 

lively! All of Kanika’s best Spring/Summer pieces 

are showcased in two main wardrobe capsules: 

a sophisticated blush and black capsule and the 

colorful 60s-inspired glam capsule with a base 

of black and gold. Kanika has a lot of formal 

pieces for business and philanthropic gala and 

cocktail events. Mixing some casual pieces with 

more glamorous ones (jeans with a colorful 

blouse or flowing white pants with a gold and 

black sweater) can bring more fun to her 

everyday outfits and doesn’t limit her to specific 

ensembles. Now, when she is hard at work, 

she is surrounded by things that inspire her and 

remind her to bring that glamour to everything 

she does! 

The original blog post was published at theclosetmerchant.com 

September 13, 2020. 

This article was edited for space and content. 


profile 

Self-Designed, Self-Made 

Deborah Briggs, AWC Denmark, shares her experiences designing and 

sewing her own clothes. 

My fashion journey began with my 

mom. I was born on January 1, 

1972, and to this day, 1970s style 

represents the height of elegance for me. My 

mom, an elementary school teacher, made 

her own pantsuits and tunics at that time, so 

my wheelhouse included fabric stores. There, I 

would run my hands over fabrics and imagine 

what they could be used for, just as she did. 

When we looked at sewing patterns together, 

she would tell me to “look at the lines,” not the 

colors or the fabric, because that was up to us. 

That sense of agency, plus free access to 

sewing supplies, led me at age seven to start 

creating custom garments for a doll who was 

missing an arm. Mom was very excited and 

proud when she discovered a black one-armed 

jumpsuit, and that’s when she started helping 

me read patterns and sew real clothes. I took 

to it like a fish to water. I also started dreaming 

about clothes. In seventh grade I dreamt about 

a bright yellow jumpsuit with gathered balloon 

pant legs, kind of an 80’s version of my onearmed 

prototype. 

Deborah Briggs 

When I first moved to Denmark, I was so 

impressed with the impeccable style of the 

older women on the buses, with their small 

white gloves and little hats. I was a young 

adult, working in a toy store, 

traveling when I had the means, 

and eventually getting my teaching 

degree. I sewed the pink tunic and 

pants that I wore to my wedding at 

Copenhagen’s city hall. I was very 

Deborah with a 

collection of her 

clothes 


active in the American Women’s Club at that 

time, but my elderly parents were on my mind, 

so we moved the family to the US. After a fiveyear 

stint back in Kansas, we returned to 

Denmark five years ago, when my sons were 

16 and 10 years old. The fine elderly ladies with 

their gloves were nowhere to be seen. 



After college, in 1996, I flew to Russia for a 

teaching job. Aside from border runs to Juarez, 

I had never been outside the US. Upon landing 

in Siberia, I was greeted by a charming young 

woman named Masha. I remember being 

momentarily confused by her clothing. She 

was wearing a conservative skirt, blouse and 

sweater, but each garment had its own colors 

and patterns. To my Kansan eyes, it clashed. 

I can almost recall the noise of the gears 

crunching in my brain as my paradigm of 

“well-dressed” expanded. My eyes found a 

new setting, called “Russian.” 


I think the clothes we choose to wear signal 

something to the world around us. Maybe they 

even signal “I don’t think about my clothes” or 

“I’d rather not be seen” but there is always a 

signal sent out. What group are you part of? 

How do you want to stand out? I know it sounds 

very high school, but imagine your thought 

process before a job interview or a party with 

new clients, and you know it’s true. 

How have your fashion choices changed 

through the years? 

I had a typical Scandinavian body type as a 

young adult. At 5 foot 7 inches and 120 pounds, 

I could have worn just about any fashion 

"correctly,” but I’ve always been more of a maker 

than a buyer. I spent half a year wearing only 

jeans and white tops… as a mantra! I made 

garments as I saw fit, and was never surprised 

that a sewing pattern fit as it was intended. 

Well, that has changed, and I’m not sorry. 

Although I was never a stranger to making 

adjustments to sewing patterns or going 

rogue, I now regularly alter patterns to my 

51-year-old body and that has made me a 

much better sewist. As I follow a variety of 

sewists on social media, my knowledge of 

structuring beautiful garments for all body 

types has grown. The sense of agency I 

acquired as a young child choosing a 

different fabric than the one shown on the 

pattern envelope has expanded to let me 

imagine the "lines" of the garment as they 

fit curvier body types. Let me tell you, it’s a 

gorgeous view, and I see greater inclusivity 

awakening both at the ground roots and the 

large pattern companies! 

Here’s the thing – customization is the whole 

point of sewing for yourself. Although we’re 

bombarded by fast fashion, there is also a 

counter-trend that appreciates garments 

tailored to the individual. We were at a 

birthday party last weekend, when suddenly 

a friend stopped the conversation and 

demanded to know if I’d made my sundress. 

“Yes,” I said, then decided to proselytize 

a bit on behalf of my craft. “I wanted a 

sundress that I didn’t have to wear a bra 

with, so I made it to fit like this.” There were 

literal gasps. Another friend returned to the 

table, and the first told her right away about 

my braless sundress. A conversation ensued 

about finding garments that fit, and how 

“lucky” I was to be able to make my own. 

How can a person be both fashionable 

and still make good choices for 

the environment? 

I like to imagine a Western society where 

custom-tailored garments are the norm 

again. As we have these conversations, we’re 

normalizing the idea that people can make 

their own clothes, just as they did before the 

days of Target and H&M. Those of us who 

create customized garments, made well and 

with pride, can do our part to influence the 

collective consciousness. A society buying 

fewer, yet cherished, garments contributes to 

a healthier environment. 

The teen girls at the school where I teach buy 

fashions from Shein and other inexpensive 

Deborah’s fashion sense on display around town 

(page 88) 

The Signature Look – casual and relaxed with 

sophisticated details (right) 


Deborah at work at her machine (left) 

Discussing styles with fellow AWC member Clarice Scott. (above) 

Dolls can enjoy great fashion too! (above) 

places. The boys get caught up in buying basic 

white T-shirts with an expensive label. These 

are fast fashion. They cost little to mass produce 

and sell like hotcakes. To me, these buying 

habits show that many people – including 

people my age, the parents of these kids – 

do not understand the real worth of garments 

in time and materials. 

But I’m not in despair. Sure, 20 years ago, in 

the days of the white-gloved ladies, there were 

many more fabric stores in Copenhagen than 

there are today. However, the fabric stores 

that exist now do a brisk business from a multigenerational 

clientele. There’s great promise 

among the many inclusive makers online, 

inspiring both women and men of all makes 

and models to sew their own clothes. 

What are your recommendations for 

beginning sewists? 

Use social media to kickstart your sewing 

journey. A few Instagram hashtags presenting 

real women and men in the clothes they’ve 

made are #SewOver50, #SewersGonnaSew and 

#McCallPatternCompany. Join some Facebook 

groups where you can ask questions and learn 

from others, for example Self Sewn Wardrobe by 

Mallory Donohue. 

Get in touch with a local fabric store for 

instruction. You might be surprised that your 

local store offers classes! Getting the feel of 

sewing with an instructor beside you is worth 

its weight in gold. The employees should be 

able to assist with choosing appropriate 

patterns and fabrics. 

When you’re ready, get a hold of a basic, 

second-hand machine and go to town with it. 

Don’t be tempted to get specialty machines 

right off the block – I literally sewed my 

swimsuits on a basic machine. First learn what 

sewing can do for you. 

Fabric is not exactly cheap, so before running 

your fingers through the full-priced textiles, 

it pays to check the tables with remnants or 

end-of-bolt pieces. If anything, you can pick up 

cheaper pieces to experiment with before 

cutting into the good stuff. 

Have fun with your journey and don’t give up. 

You’ll be an inspiration for others. 


I’m a teacher in Denmark, and my current goto 

outfit is a blousy blouse with stretchy jeans. 

In cooler weather, I often wear a prof-looking 

jacket over this ensemble. I go from professional 

to casual settings like this and feel great. 

What is something you love now that you 

could never have imagined you would like in 

the past? 

Blousy and flowy clothes are something I love 

now that I didn’t appreciate much in the past. I 

was much more about fitted clothing in the past, 

but now, since Corona – hm hm – I love gathers, 

pleats, and flowy fabrics and silhouettes. 


My favorite beauty tip comes from one of my 

first jobs in a restaurant. Just as you came from 

the “floor” to the kitchen, there was a sign, outof-sight 

for customers. It read, “You’re beautiful 

when you smile.” I really think that says it all. 

What’s the best and worst piece of advice 

you’ve ever received? 

The worst style advice I’ve ever heard is to 

"wear black to make yourself look smaller.” 

I’m not going to pick apart the self-deprecating 

implications, but to get your best smile, you 

have to project your light, not fit into someone’s 

dark box. 

My favorite style tip comes from a little book 

by Lee Heyward called Simply Effortless Style. 

She advises to pick three adjectives from her 

handy list and use those as guide words for 

cleaning out your closet and purchasing 

clothes. Obviously she describes the mentality in 

greater detail, but the end result is a wardrobe 

that makes you happy. My adjectives happen to 

be “fun, friendly and easy.” Read into that what 

you will! 




I’ve enjoyed Brené Brown’s talks for years now, 

and have just watched her newest, currently on 

Netflix. It was fantastic to get a refresher in the 

importance of being vulnerable in order to be 

creative and joyful. I’d really like to keep that in 

mind as I grow older and wiser! 


profile 

Southern Influence on a 

Parisian Lifestyle 

Diana Levaton, AWG Paris, shares her fascinating journey from shy 

Southern girl to owning a Parisian modeling agency. 

My career in fashion happened over 

two chapters of my life separated 

by a long stint as a stay-at-home 

mom. First, as a shy, lanky (but tall) 17 year old, 

I was “discovered” by a model scout and sent 

to Italy on a modeling contract. That was the 

beginning of a 20-year modeling career. The 

second happened 35 years later. After more 

than 10 years at home with my son, I found 

myself widowed and expected to take my 

husband’s place as president of our modeling 

agency, Metropolitan Models. 

I was born in Alabama, near the NASA base 

where my father worked as an aeronautical 

engineer. But we moved shortly thereafter 

back to my parents’ hometown in Tennessee 

to be closer to their aging parents. I grew up 

surrounded by strong Southern ladies - my 

grandmothers, my aunts, my sister and my 

cousins. Southern women are known for two 

things: never leaving the house without full 

makeup and dressed perfectly, and their talent 

for gathering everyone together to get things 

done. Watching them at church, schools and 

town meetings had a huge impact on my life. 

I learned that great joy can be found in banding 

together to complete a task. When Hillary 

Diana Levaton 

Clinton wrote It Takes a Village, I could identify 

with her vision, thanks to all of 

those Southern Belles. Like my 

fellow Tennessean, Reese 

Witherspoon, once said: “if you 

Diana at her 

desk at the 

want something done, ask a 

Metropolitan 

Southern woman.” 

Models office 

in Paris 


I was a very happy child, but I was self-conscious 

about my height. My older sister, Debra, saw 

that I was struggling and enrolled me in a “selfimprovement” 

school. The “self-improvement” 

school just happened to share lobby space with 

a modeling school. How those small town model 

agents saw the model behind the skinny girl 

with braces and bottle cap glasses is beyond me, 

but they did, and before I knew it, I was flying to 

Italy to begin a modeling career that would last 

more than 20 years. 

In 1988, I came to Paris for a couple of weeks 

to see clients with a brand new agency called 

Metropolitan Models. I met the charming 

founder of the agency that first day and fell 

madly in love. Those two weeks turned into 35 

years! Michel was my husband, my agent, my 

business partner and my best friend. We were 

inseparable for 30 years. I ended up investing in 

the agency and for more than 25 years, we were 

co-owners of Metropolitan. However, when our 

son was born, I wanted to stop traveling and 

stay home to raise him. Michel kept running the 

agency, and I settled into my new life as a stayat 

-home mom. When Michel was diagnosed 

with the cancer that would take his life, we 

decided that I would come back to our modeling 

agency as a co-director so I could help him run 

the business during his treatment. After a little 

more than a year, he lost his battle, and I was 

left to manage the agency alone. 


with fashion. 

Southern women dress beautifully and they 

dress up! Nice clothes all the time, lots of 

makeup and hair done! My mother and sister 

were very fashionable, but I was a bookish and 

shy child and had no fashion sense whatsoever. 

My earliest experience with European fashion 

was on May 16, 1986, the day I arrived in Milan 

to begin my modeling career. I was wearing a 

light blue dress with light blue high heels, and 

the looks on the agents’ faces made it VERY clear 

that I was not dressed appropriately! I looked 

around and saw that everyone was in jeans, 

T-shirts and Santiago boots, which I found to be 

very strange, because, in my part of the world, 

you wore that outfit for rodeos, not rendez-vous 

with modeling agencies! I can assure you that 

by the second day, I was running around 

Milan dressed exactly like them. One of the 

peculiarities of the fashion business is that 

most people in my sector dress down. Jeans, 

no makeup and messy hair – the opposite of 

my Southern upbringing. 


Fashion is difficult to define, because the word 

fashion can mean either a trend or someone’s 

style or approach. So it can mean something 

ever-changing or (contrarily) someone’s 

constant way of being. I work in an industry that 

Diana's original model information card 

promotes the first meaning, by changing trends 

every season. However, I think that a woman 

needs to develop her own style, and that style 

obviously cannot change every time a designer 

thinks it should. I believe a woman’s way of 

dressing reflects what she wants others to 

perceive about her. As a tall, blond model in 

Paris, I was always a bit worried that people 

would take me for a flake, so I dressed 

classically in hopes that people would take me 

more seriously. I only wear flats, I never wear 

frills and haven’t worn an above the knee skirt 

since I turned 45. I don’t think the fashion 

business is going to change my way of dressing. 

Designers can tweak what we wear a bit by 

changing fashion trends, but I believe that by 

the time we are in our 40s and 50s, we know 

what we want to portray, we know what looks 

good on us and tend to look for exactly that 

when shopping. 

What three items belong in every 

woman’s wardrobe? 

Wow! It’s hard to edit it down to three things, 

but I’ll try. I agree that every woman needs a 

good black dress (not necessarily “little” because 

I like my skirts long). I am in love with the Molli 

brand. Molli was known mostly for newborn 

layettes but the young designer, Charlotte de 

Fayet, has renewed the brand and offers 

beautiful knits for women. I also think a high 

quality and perfectly fitting black or navy blue 

pantsuit is amazing. I splurge for mine at Chloé 

every few years (expensive, I know). It is sad 

that the great Gabriella Hearst is leaving Chloé 

as creative director, as she was making terrific 

headway in sustainability for my favorite brand. 

No one can deny that a perfect handbag is 

something that is hugely important for women, 

considering that we carry them wherever we go! 

So that will be my third item. My favorite go-to 

brand for handbags right now is Sézane, founded 

by the young Morgane Sezalory, a young female 

designer and entrepreneur who offers quality 

pieces at mid-range prices. 



I basically lived out of a suitcase during my 

20- year modeling career. The fact that I had 

to be ready to go anywhere at the drop of a hat 

definitely impacted my fashion choices. I choose 

fabrics that can pack easily and need little 

ironing. The casual chic way that Parisian 

women dress also influenced my way of 

dressing, but because of my southern US 

upbringing, I will never be able to go full “hippy 

chic.” Unless I am out jogging, you will never see 

me in sweatpants! As they say, “you can take the 

girl out of the South, but you cannot take the 

South out of the girl.” 




As a model agent, I can see that fashion 

magazines are beginning to market to several 

demographics. I started modeling at the same 

time as the “supermodels” like Cindy, Claudia, 

and Linda, when most of us were white, tall 

and skinny. Then I watched as the waif 

movement came and models got even skinnier! 

Now, things have changed. If you go to my 

agency’s website (metropolitanmodels.com), 

you will see that models now come in all shapes, 

sizes and colors. Plus-size models, already the 

rage in the US, are slowly (too slowly for my 

taste) making their way across the Atlantic. Also, 

Metropolitan was the first agency in Paris to 

create a non-binary board. 


the world? 

I take pride in being one of the few female 

presidents of a modeling agency and dedicate 

much of my time to making sure that my models 

are treated with respect and dignity. When I 

started modeling in 1986, this business could 

be quite dangerous for young girls. Almost all of 

the agency owners were men, and some were 

preying on their models. Thanks to the #MeToo 

movement, a lot of that bad behavior has 

disappeared, and I consider it my job to make 

sure that the models are safe and protected, 

something that was not necessarily the norm 25 

years ago. 


with it? 

I would like to travel back in time to 1984 and 

invest it in Apple. 


you go? 

See above!! 

What is your favorite beauty tip? 

Do 30 minutes of exercise a day. It helps 

maintain good body weight and extends life 

expectancy. Exercise increases blood circulation 


A look back at Diana's 

modeling days... 

and flushes out toxins, so it gives the skin a 

healthy glow. I consider that, unless one has 

babies or toddlers at home, there is no excuse 

not to spend 30 minutes a day exercising. I think 

it’s the best thing I do for my health and beauty. 

My tastes in exercise have changed throughout 

the years, but right now I jog five days a week 

and do yoga twice a week for 30 minutes. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve 

ever received? 

The best advice I ever received was (of course) 

from Mom. One day, when I was procrastinating 

about a big homework assignment, she gave 

me an oven timer and said “Diana, always 

remember that almost anyone can accomplish 

almost anything in 15 minute increments." She 

explained that if I had a difficult task to do, I 

should set the timer for 15 minutes and work 

on it, and I would be surprised as to how much I 

could get done in that time. From that moment 

on, I became obsessed with the 15-minute rule. 

When I left for Italy, that oven timer came with 

me, and it helped me throughout my career. 

The 15-minute rule helped me complete an 

MA in French History and later, an MBA, while 

working and/or raising my son. The 15-minute 

rule helped again after Michel died. Right after 

his death, I found myself paralyzed with grief 

and my mind racing, wondering how I was going 

to run our business that he had always managed. 

On my first day back at work after his funeral, 

I arrived to find 30 grief-stricken employees 

looking at me in a panic. I went into my husband’s 

office, closed the door, took a deep breath and 

set my phone timer for 15 minutes. I needed that 

time to think about how we were going to move 

forward without Michel. I pictured my Mom, my 

grandmothers and my aunts gathering everyone 

together in times of emergency and need. This 

was no different. In this emergency situation, it 

was time for me to admit that I needed help. 

I walked out of my office and explained to my 

employees that I would not be able to do this 

alone. We were going to have to join together 

as a team to pull us back from this tragedy. 

Everyone played along and agreed to take on 

more responsibility and more work to show 

Michel and the world that we could do this. And 

petit à petit, my little village succeeded. We felt 

empowered by the strength of our group, as we 

worked together to pull the agency back on track. 

Our work paid off, as the agency flourished and 

we ended up doing better than we ever had! In 

fact, after four years, our annual revenue has 

increased by more than 70 percent! I think Michel 

(and all of those petite Southern mamas) would 

be proud of us. 

Dogs on Show! 

Fashion Forward Pajamas 

for a Night In…or Out! 

We’re feeling good in these colorful, 

whimsical pajamas from Karen Mabon 

“Fancy Dress Dogs ” 

Made in organic cotton 

available online now. 

Shop The Pajama Company 

for the newest styles of the season! 

Ellie Badanes, AW Surrey and FAUSA Member. 

96 INSPIRING WOMEN INSPIRING WOMEN 97 

Founder, The Pajama Company

feature 

Inspiring Reads: 

Modern Resin Jewellery 

Sara Naumann has been in 

the creative industry for over 

20 years. As a designer and 

instructor, her mission is 

to make the technical parts 

easy so that crafters of all 

experience levels can enjoy 

the creative process. Originally 

from Oregon, Sara lives in 

Germany with her husband 

and daughter. She is the vice 

president of the American 

Women’s Club of Hamburg. 

This is Sara's fourth book, and 

her second on making resin 

jewellery. You can find her on 

social media, where she posts 

instructional crafting videos 

and blog-post tutorials. 

What was your inspiration for the book? 

This is my second book on resin jewellery. As with 

the first, How to Make Resin Jewellery, my mission 

was to create a pathway that makes this craft – 

which can seem intimidating – easy and accessible. 

Before COVID-19, I often taught in-person workshops, 

and my inspiration always comes from the people I 

met who bravely tried something new and were 

happily surprised at their own abilities! 

I often hear that crafters are curious about how to use 

resin, yet, because it involves mixing chemicals, they’re 

uncertain of where and how to get started. Making 


esin jewellery is absolutely one of the most fun 

things I do, and I always want to share that joy in 

creative exploration. 

How long did it take you to write the book? 

I initially spoke with Search Press, the publisher, 

at a craft trade show in the UK in February 2020 

– and we all know what happened shortly after 

that! Developing the outline, sourcing 

supplies, designing the projects and going back 

and forth on the editing process took about a 

year. Yet COVID-19 travel restrictions between 

Germany and the UK ultimately caused a big 

delay, and meant we needed to reschedule the 

photo shoot again… and again… and again, 

which postponed the release by nearly a year. 

Eventually I made it to England so we could 

shoot the "step-by-steps" – about two years 

after that initial discussion. 

What kind of research did you do, and how 

long did you spend researching before 

beginning the book? 

This is my second book on resin jewellery – 

and while much of the basic technique 

(measuring, mixing and pouring) remains 

the same, there are always new products 

on the market to research. As a crafter, 

my research is hands-on. I love trying 

something new and having it turn out 

beautifully… but it’s also great to experience 

the things that don’t work, which allows 

me to troubleshoot – and so, as an 

instructor, help people to avoid making 

the same mistakes. 

What is the most important thing you 

want readers to take from your book? 

I talk to a lot of people who enjoyed arts 

and crafts as children, but as adults they 

consider themselves “uncreative.” Sometimes, 

that’s because someone, somewhere along 

the line, told them they were doing something 

wrong. With resin, once you know the basics, 

there really is no wrong way to create. You 

can keep it simple, or add in all kinds of 

other jewellery techniques, from beading to 

mixed-media. I want readers to take the 

power of the how-to knowledge I share in the 

book – from the basics to troubleshooting – 

and feel comfortable either replicating the 

designs or using them as a starting point for 

their own pieces. 

When did you start writing? 

As a child, I loved writing and drawing and spent 

ages making my own little stapled-together 

books. I was considered shy and often felt 

self-conscious speaking, but writing provided 

a safe way for me to express myself. I’m not 

so shy anymore, but even now I depend on my 

morning journaling practice for reflection. 

What’s your favorite under-appreciated novel? 

Ack – there are so many I could name! Recently, 

I discovered this fantastic British independent 

publisher called Peirene, which publishes literary 

fiction from all over the world translated into 

English. The books I’ve read from this publisher 

have been consistently excellent, including 

Dance by the Canal by Kerstin Hensel and The Love 

of Singular Men by Victor Heringer. 

What is your favorite childhood book? 

Oh, the list I could give you! I was always reading 

– it was like a book was a permanent part of my 

hand, and I read everything from Beverly Cleary's 

books to Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden and Harriet 

the Spy. Plus all the Judy Blume books! I was also 

a repeat-reader, and Charlotte’s Web made me cry 

no matter how many times I’d been through 

my dog-earred copy of that book. 

What are you reading now? 

I’ve been dreaming of a trip to Asia; so fornow, 

I’m reading lots of books from Japanese, 

Korean and Vietnamese writers. It’s my luck 

that so many novels are being translated into 

English so I can travel virtually until I can go 

for real. 

If you could tell your younger writing-self 

anything, what would it be? 

When I was in school, I loved writing – but 

the only type of writing I really knew was the 

kind I read in novels. If I could, I would tell 

my younger writer-self that there are lots of 

other kinds of writing besides fiction – such 

as historical books, textbooks, science books, 

reference books… and craft instruction books! 

What’s next for you? Are you working 

on anything new you’d like to share with 

our readers? 

After the summer holidays, I’ll be back in gear 

with classes and workshops here in Hamburg. 

COVID-19 really stopped all in-person workshops; 

while I love the ease and efficiency of 

online classes, it’s really much more fun to be 

together creating in the same room! 

A short summary of the book 

In Modern Resin Jewellery, Sara Naumann 

shares tips, techniques and instructions for 

making over 50 jewellery projects, using 

two-part resin epoxy and craft supplies, 

such as glitter, embossing powders, inks 

and patterned papers. 

The technique is easy: simply mix the twopart 

resin epoxy together and pour into a 

mould or bezel. You can combine clear 

resin with papers – from patterned papers 

to maps or vintage ephemera – or color the 

resin with inks and dyes. Another option? 

Embed items such as dried flowers in the 

resin before it cures. Once the resin is cured, 

you’re ready to make your own jewellery 

with the piece. Rings, pendants, cufflinks, 

hairpins and bracelets are all easy to make, 

and look professional. 

In this book, Sara shares a broad range of 

fresh, stylish projects to inspire you to make 

your own bespoke wearables or fabulous gifts. 

Books presented in the 

Inspiring Reads feature are 

available for purchase via 

the FAWCO website in the 

Books by Members or Books 

by Clubs sections. 

Enjoy! 

Author Sara Naumann shows off her elegant 

jewelry creations. (page 100) 


our next issue 

To nominate candidates for profiles, please send the candidate's name, candidate's email 

address and a brief description (50-100 words) of why you think they are inspiring and fit the 

theme for the issue. Send the information to Profiles Coordinator, Cristin Middlebrooks, 

inspiringwomenprofiles@fawco.org 

To submit a feature: Features are used to complement the theme. This can be broadly 

applied; let us know what you'd like to write about! Our features are 700-800 words plus 

photos. Contact our Features Coordinator, Connie Phlipot, inspiringwomenfeatures@fawco.org 

Deadline for Nominations 

The deadline for submitting 

nominees and feature topics for 

our next issue is ... 

September 22 nd 

Call for 

November 

Nominees! 

FAWCO clubs are rich with 

members from different 

countries and cultures. Sharing 

our heritages brings so much 

to our club experiences and 

activities. One of the reasons 

many of us join FAWCO clubs 

is to engage with others and 

elevate our understanding and 

enjoyment of other cultures. 

For our next issue of Inspiring Women we are looking for women who embrace culture. 

Do you know someone who keeps their “home culture” alive in their adopted country? Perhaps 

someone who has jumped all the way into a new culture? Or, someone who found a unique way 

to blend new and old? 

How about someone teaching about local culture or running a business related to cultural 

awareness. A cultural tour guide? Cultural sensitivity trainer? Writer or blogger about culture and 

how it affects one’s identity? Cookbook authors or culinary instructors showcasing a particular 

culture? Is there someone in your club who is known for sharing their cultural traditions? 

Someone blending multiple cultures within their family unit? Help us share their stories with 

our readers! 

inspiring you 

Founded in 1931, FAWCO is a global women's NGO (non-governmental organization), an 

international network of independent volunteer clubs and associations comprising 58 member 

clubs in 31 countries on six continents. FAWCO serves as a resource and a voice for its members; 

seeks to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide, especially in the areas of human rights, 

health, education and the environment; advocates for the rights of US citizens overseas; and 

contributes to the global community through its Global Issues Teams and The FAWCO Foundation, 

which provides development grants and education awards. Since 1997, FAWCO has held special 

consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. 

our mission statement 

FAWCO is an international federation of independent organizations whose mission is: 

• to build strong support networks for its American and international membership; 

• to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide; 

• to advocate for the rights of US citizens overseas; and 

• to mobilize the skills of its membership in support of global initiatives for 

education, the environment, health and human rights. 

Advertising disclaimer 

FAWco receives financial remuneration for page space from advertisers. Views expressed or 

benefits described in any display advertisement, advertorial or in any webpage visited online 

directly from these adverts are not endorsed by FAWCO. 

copyright 2023 fawco 

Inspiring Women© Magazine is owned and published electronically by FAWCO. 

All rights reserved. All bylined articles are copyright of their respective authors as indicated herein 

and are reproduced with their permission. The magazine or portions of it may not be reproduced 

in any form, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, 

mechanical, photocopy or otherwise – without written consent of the publisher. 

Photographs are integral to our magazine. 

We end each issue with a full page photograph 

that offers a unique perspective on its theme. 

The photo can be provocative, amusing, 

entertaining and/or a photo that you think says 

"That's Inspired!" for each issue. 

Please contact: inspiringwomen.editor@fawco.org 

Our photo-centric feature "Through My Lens" is a 

compilation of photos and short captions 

in keeping with the issue’s theme. 

Please contact: 

inspiringwomenfeatures@fawco.org 


more about 

this issue 

The Inspiring Women Team 

That's 

Inspired! 

Michele Elsie Kristin Connie Cristin Hollis 

For more information about this magazine, please contact a member of the Inspiring Women team: 

Editor in Chief, Michele Hendrikse Du Bois, inspiringwomen.editor@fawco.org 

Advertising and Sponsorship Manager, Elsie Bose, advertising@fawco.org 

Layout Coordinator, Kristin D. Haanæs, inspiringwomen.layout@fawco.org 

Features Coordinator, Connie Phlipot, inspiringwomenfeatures@fawco.org 

Profiles Coordinator, Cristin Middlebrooks, inspiringwomenprofiles@fawco.org 

Marketing Manager, Hollis Vaughen, iw.marketing@fawco.org 

Acknowledgements: 

Thanks to our profilees (Olga, Samira, Mariachiara, Andrea, Yerie, Callie, Gaby, Deb, Diana and 

Sarah) and our feature contributors (Eva, Liz, Whitney, Wendy, Nadine and Diane) for their work 

on the articles and also for the use of their photos and those of their friends and families. 

The cover photo of Olga Johnston Antonova (AWC Berlin) wearing sustainable designer garments 

was taken in Berlin by Kamila Heil of Kamila Heil Photography. Read Olga’s profile on page 8. 

Special thanks to the proofreading team of Laurie Brooks (AWC Amsterdam and The Hague/FAUSA), 

Mary Stewart Burgher (AWC Denmark), Sallie Chaballier (AAWE Paris), Janis Kaas (AAWE Paris/ 

FAUSA), Janet Davis ((AIWC Cologne), Carol-Lyn McKelvey (AIWC Cologne/FAUSA), Jenny Taylor 

(AIWC Cologne and Düsseldorf), Barbara Bühling (AIWC Düsseldorf), Teddie Weyr (AWA Vienna) and 

Roberta Zöllner (Munich IWC). 

Please note: images used in this publication are either sourced from our team, the authors 

themselves, or through canva.com or pixabay.com. 

Please post a link for this issue of Inspiring Women, 

"We Are Talking Fashion" in your club 

publications until "Women Embracing Culture" 

is published on November 16, 2023. 

Using my hands to create new 

things makes me feel complete. 

When designing clothes, I love 

to drape because using the 

dressform helps me understand 

the curves of the body and 

working with the fabrics and 

materials directly on the surface 

gives me a real idea of how they 

will look on a person. 

Andrea Saieh, AWC Bogotá

Inspiring Women Magazine September 2023

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