First ladies, designers and supporters from all over the world attended F4D's premiere event at the Pierre Hotel in NYC.

Fashion 4 Development hosted its 2nd Annual First Ladies Luncheon in September 2012 during the 67 Session of United Nations General Assembly in New York. Evie Evengelou, F4D co-founder and global chair, along with Franca Sozzani, F4D's Goodwill Ambassador; H.E. Toyin Ojora Saraki, LLB LLM BL, and Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation; her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway; Coumba Toure, Founder of Advanced Development for Africa; and honored guest Madame Ban Soon-taek, First Lady of the United Nations, welcomed First Ladies, fashion industry leaders and worldwide supporters of the F4D initiative for an informative and celebratory presentation.

Guests and honorees including Livia Firth, founder of The Green Carpet Challenge and creative director of Eco Age Ltd, Martha Stewart, Lily Cole, Roberta Flack, designers Rebecca Minkoff, Tory Burch and Tommy Hilfiger, along with First Ladies and Royals from Angola, Albania, Bali, Benin, Burundi, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Gabon, Honduras, Iceland, Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Paraguay, Poland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and Zambia.

The luncheon program featured multi-dimensional artistic fashion installations and globally influenced fashion show. Evie Evangelou presented the awards to honor individuals who have made outstanding efforts in supporting the initiative's mission. Madame Oktiniwati Ulfadariaf Hatta Rajasa, Chairperson and Founder of Cita Tenun Indonesia, was honored with the Women's Champion Award for her generous work empowering the community as well as preserving Indonesian tradition. Franca Sozzani, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Italia, was the recipient of the Fashion and Humanity Award for her advancement of F4D initiatives and her leadership as F4D inaugural Goodwill Ambassador. H.E. Toyin Saraki, Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation, was honored with the F4D Angel Award for her work promoting women's and children's health.

Evangelou announced the launch of Beauty 4 Empowerment (B4E), an initiative that rallies the support of the beauty industry to educate, empower, enhance and enrich individuals and communities across the globe, as well as the Founding Woman's Circle, Chaired by Cassandra Seidenfeld.

Franca Sozzani highlighted the advancement of F4D's focus in the African continent, followed by Kija Chung, Co Chair of World Fashion 4 Development (WF4D) Asia who presented the development of F4D's scholarship program. The collaborative program between F4D and the number of strategic partners is raising funds to educate train and provide other support to impoverished communities.

Two live fashion shows paid homage to the past and future of F4D. Edun, Eredappa, Okavango by Angelo Lambrou and Sophie Zinga Sy collaborated on a fashion show for Africa, F4D's region of focus for the past year. The announcement of Asia as F4D new region of focus was celebrated with an Indonesian fashion show featuring the collections from designers Priyo Oktaviano and Sebastian Gunawan, showcasing Vogue Boutique Jewelry by Tanzila Rab.

For more information please visit www.fashion-4-development.com