April: Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Ala Isham has dedicated most of her adult life to advocating for victims’ rights. Together with her brother Alexander Auersperg, she cofounded the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) in honor of her mother, Sunny von Bülow. Over the years, this organization has become a cornerstone in securing rights, resources, and protection for victims of crime in America.
Ala Isham
The present time finds Ala Isham as an established fashion designer managing her brand “Ala von Auersperg." Throughout her career Ala was able to join two worlds that seem totally unrelated: awareness for the rights of victims of violence, and fashion. “I want to make women feel good about themselves when they wear my clothes. It is just as important for me to help women whose lives have been destroyed regain their footing. Empowering them, making them feel beautiful is a counterpoint to the many things violence against women takes away from them. That is why we have pledged to take a part of the proceeds from my collection to support programs that fight crimes against women.”
“I am inspired by beautiful things I see around me. I love using my drawings and paintings on fabrics. Women who wear my clothes become my art installation.” As an artist, Ala transcribes her original artwork, inspired by nature and travels, onto digitally printed luxurious materials. Ala's signature kaftans are inspired by the glamorous kaftans she saw her mother wear as a child. Her dresses and tops are an extension of her collection and offer a relaxed elegance with an eye towards beach living.
Ala has decided to take her charity through fashion one step further this year, and will be launching a new kaftan in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month which is April. The color pink, considered the color of healing, will be at the forefront of the new kaftan's design, and 50% of the proceeds will go directly towards fighting against this injustice that so many women still face. Fashion for Ala can be healing.
Although the economical and social contexts definitively have an impact on fashion, we usually don’t associate fashion with violence, but this is not the case for Ala as she is using her brand to raise awareness around this topic.
“Fashion allows me to communicate with many women. Women usually care about what happens to other women. It is my hope that my customers will either respond to a call for action, if it is needed, or buy an item where a good part of the proceeds goes to helping other women.”
What are the tools you are using as a fashion designer to help in the promotion of ending violence in general against women?
“Interviews, social media, and my website! We are going to use our Instagram and Facebook to release information about these issues. Every collection will carry an item where proceeds will go to help the organizations that work with Victims of Violence. We are also considering creating a capsule collection of seven pieces in which part of the proceeds will be permanently dedicated to this issue.”
You started the National Center for Victims of Crime in the 80s, how much has it changed?
“So much has changed since then. On the most basic level Victims of Violence had no role in the judicial process when we first started the Center. All criminal cases are the State vs. the Perpetrator. Crime victims were simply witnesses called to testify about the terrible things that happened to them. Now victims are informed at every stage of the judicial process. Victims can make victim impact statements at sentencing and parole hearings. They are informed when a perpetrator is released. As simple and self evident as all this sounds it reflected an enormous change in the system.”
How do you see the future of the National Center for Victims of Crime given the current political climate?
“We are on good footing. There is a greater awareness of the needs of victims. Victimization crosses all racial, gender and socio economic differences. Congress has made victims issues a priority.”
“It was however, recently reported that the White House was following Heritage Foundation Guidelines for making cuts to the federal budget. These guidelines cut funding for the Crimes Against Women Office in the Justice Department. The White House's most recent version of cuts did not include these. So while we are now more optimistic that this funding will stay intact, the fact that it is not currently listed does not mean it will not be cut.”
Why is it so vital to keep the Violence Against Women Act funded and running?
“Almost 1.5 million women were victims of crime in 2015. VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) funding provides services to 250,000 women affected by violence each year. VAWA provides 500 million dollars in funding. More funding is needed to help more of these women”.
Maybe this is why she is using her brand to raise awareness. “We support these issues as a family. Every bit helps”.
