Celeb-Designed Weitzman Pumps Auctioned
This month, Stuart Weitzman hosts the company’s Seventh Annual Celebrity Shoe Auction. This year’s auction benefits ovarian cancer research, known as a “silent disease” due to subtle and easily overlooked symptoms. To help raise funds, the designer asked a select group of celebrities to design and autograph a Stuart Weitzman pump to be auctioned off throughout the month, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
All of the celebrity-designed shoes will be posted on the company website – www.stuartweitzman.com – which will serve as the forum for bidding from September 4, 2007 through October 4, 2007.
“Our company takes great pride in the money we’ve raised through our annual charity shoe auction,” says Stuart Weitzman. “This year we have chosen to support ovarian cancer research, which has become a very serious women’s issue. The celebrities we enlisted have made extraordinary creations that are sure to bring a great amount of attention to this important cause.”
This year, celebrities from fashion, film, and television were approached to design a single pump, Fever, Stuart Weitzman’s most popular style, in a way that reflected their personality and interests. Actress Charlize Theron designed the shoe to reflect her native South Africa, while actresses Molly Sims and Queen Latifah decided to honor their current projects, creating “Las Vegas” and “Hairspray” -themed shoes, respectively.
Other celebrities participating in this year’s auction include: Courteney Cox-Arquette, Hayden Panettiere, Kelly Ripa, Kyle MacLachlan, Marcia Cross, Nicolette Sheridan, Sharon Stone, and Vanessa Williams, among others. Through the generous donation of their time and creative talents, these celebrities have joined Stuart Weitzman in helping raise awareness and funds toward research for ovarian cancer, which has recently been identified as the fifth leading cause of death among American women.
Due to ovarian cancer’s subtle and easily overlooked symptoms, 70% of diagnoses occur at advanced stages. If detected early, ovarian cancer is 90% treatable, but because there are currently no methods for early detection, fewer than half of all women diagnosed with this disease survive beyond five years of diagnosis. Upon learning that there are no effective means of early detection, Stuart Weitzman decided to re-direct their annual charity shoe auction to benefit this cause and encourage further research efforts, with 100% of the funds raised going to the Folkman Institute in Boston.
About Stuart Weitzman:
Stuart Weitzman is one of the leading global luxury fashion footwear and accessories brands. Key customers include stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Harrods. Currently Stuart Weitzman operates retail stores across the country including New York, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Costa Mesa, King of Prussia, McClean, San Antonio, San Francisco, Atlantic City, Troy, Aventura, Austin and White Plains. Stuart Weitzman also has more than 16 Stuart Weitzman branded stores outside of the United States. The brand is sold in more than 50 countries.
The company, which is run by Stuart Weitzman (founder and chief designer), has built a reputation for its creative use of unique materials in footwear and for its attention to quality. Stuart Weitzman’s dedication to fusing fashion, fit and comfort has earned him accolades from both the design world and legions of diverse fans, including some of the top celebrities across the globe. His shoes are a familiar sight at events like the Oscars and the Emmys and his bridal collections have won awards of their own.
Weitzman is seen in the above image with Regina King, who wore Weitzman shoes featuring diamonds belonging to Marilyn Monroe at the Oscars.
