The tag team of music legend Gloria Estefan and her son Emilio, the creative force behind the smash Billboard chart-topping album Like Father, Like Son, stormed New York Fashion Week with an all-woman singing ensemble and an Aura. Sounds like it’s all dream. But while it didn’t transform into a massive show, just being a part of New York Fashion Week was pretty important for the Estefans.
“It was our first time, our first appearance in such a high-profile venue,” says Emilio, after the preview of their Aura cover at the new Topshop flagship store at 5th Avenue and 39th Street. “It’s such a great experience and something all women should experience.”
Emilio Estefan, who runs three Miami-based luxury fashion labels — Miami Dolphins Swim, Remix, and Opening Ceremony by Emilio Estefan — also founded the Iglefey foundation in 2003 to empower underprivileged girls.
Estefan says being a part of New York Fashion Week and showing at a Topshop New York concept store is a great example of fashion and philanthropy merging.
“What we’re doing here now is huge,” Estefan says. “Fashion should be about inspiring women.” And Aura is not just a pretty face. Emilio Estefan, who established the iglefey foundation in 2003 to empower underprivileged girls, has long spoken about the importance of true philanthropy.
“I think fashion should be about empowering women,” he says. “Show designers at their best, but we need to be helping women, the poor, homeless — provide proper clothing, hygiene, shoes, comfy shoes. I think women are the queens of beauty. And how can you not show women in their best position?”
Estefan notes the amazing change in women’s position in the world today. “There is a huge turnaround in the position of women,” he says. “We’re power women. There’s been such a huge success with women in politics, in entertainment, in business, in hospitals — all sectors of society are looking at women with so much respect and pride. And that’s something that, I believe, the fashion industry should celebrate, and do so every day. To see how beautiful and stylish we are. There’s so much inspiration to be found in our community.”
The Estefans’ show at the Topshop New York concept store was a hit among the designer crowd.
“I love the ambiance at Topshop,” designer Rebecca Minkoff says. “The look of their stores is perfect for fall — there’s an element of chic and glamour to it. You don’t need anything on the skin or on the floor. It’s just the atmosphere that works.”
“The vibe in this Topshop store was so positive,” photographer Alistair Wiley says. “There was such a vibe that it felt like an oasis, like a warmer place — and the women were so radiant.”
Wiley thinks the Estefans hit the nail on the head with their all-woman cover. “I loved the cover,” he says. “They all sang beautifully, and I loved the idea that it’s a song that can empower women in many ways.”
“The women all looked so beautiful,” adds stylist Sophie Ohanian. “It was a pleasure to work with them on this. I loved the idea of a cover, and was interested to see how they would apply that concept. The talented women of this generation are remarkable. The Estefans are not only creatives, but also great mothers.”
The show also attracted Carine Roitfeld, designer Fausto Puglisi, stylist Anna Ewers, as well as performance artist Wendy Martineau. “It was such a beautiful vibe with the beautiful women in all white, all together — I loved it,” Roitfeld says. “It was almost like a fairy tale scene.”
For more on the Estefans, read their whole interview, on New York Magazine’s Vulture.com.
