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Lauren Bush Wants to Improve the Lives of Women and Children the World Over—And She's Doing It with Style, One Bag And

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Lauren Bush Wants to Improve the Lives of Women and Children the World Over—And She's Doing It with Style, One Bag And What’s Your Cause? Instead of going into the family business, Lauren Bush is pursuing a personal agenda: designing products like her FEED bag (opposite) that help employ and feed people in developing nations. Lauren Pierce cotton Model Citizen dress ($585). Lauren Bush wants to improve the lives of women and children the world over—and she’s doing it with style, one bag and one dress at a time. By MELINDA PAGE Photographs by STEWART SHINING Styled by JENNY CAPITAIN 60 TOWN & COUNTRY first thing you see Right: Bush and her when you step business partner, Jacqueline Ytuarte, in THE into Lauren Bush’s Bush’s apartment–design company headquarters, which also hap- studio. Below: With pens to serve as her apartment, is a tiny boyfriend David Lauren in April, just before Manhattan-sized kitchen. There are no receiving an award from luxury faucets here, just the standard Cambodia’s Somaly Mam white-laminate cabinets found in any Foundation. “He’s been rental apartment. Could this really be so supportive,” she says. David showed up at the where Lauren Bush—granddaughter of event toting one of her George H.W., niece of W., girlfriend of eco-friendly FEED bags. David Lauren (Ralph Lauren’s son), and “We talked about my idea on one of our first dates.” the former face of Tommy Hilfiger—lives and works? Indeed it is, and the rest of to the Poor, the semi- the space is just as small, without a flash nal book about micro- of pretension in sight. The most eye- credit by Nobel Peace catching thing in the diminutive loft: Prize winner Muham- bright bolts of tie-dyed fabric from the mad Yunus—“one of Democratic Republic of the Congo. These my heroes,” says Bush. days, instead of spending big on rent, the (True enough, a dog- twenty-six-year-old is economizing for a eared copy resides on cause, pouring all her money and time her bookshelf alongside into developing her Lauren Pierce line of an antique edition of socially responsible clothing (lauren- the White House Cook A MELESCU Y pierce.com), sold exclusively at Barneys. Book, Bill Clinton’s Giv- SON Turn your attention to the designer her- ing, Al Gore’s Inconve- Y self and you’ll also be surprised to find out nient Truth and Jeffrey (SKETCHES, TEXTILES); that Bush’s clothing line isn’t just about Sachs’s End of Poverty.) And although her D another celebrity trying to cash in on company has only two employees, includ- her notable name. Launched in 2008, the ing her, she takes things seriously. line features eco-friendly textiles made by While discussing the Lauren Pierce women, and each collection focuses at- line’s philanthropic genesis and, specifi- ULLAN.COM; COURTES M tention on the work of artisans from a dif- cally, why she’s focusing on women, Bush C M ferent country. Although dresses for spring jumps up and grabs a copy of her senior 2010—which come in five silhouettes and thesis, Encountering Women, which she ATRICK P range in price from $465 to $590—are sewn wrote as an anthropology major at Prince- / Clockwise from top left: Sketches for in New York, the one-of-a-kind fabrics ton in 2006. She flips through its pages, the spring 2010 were made by Congolese women using tra- pointing out diary entries and pictures FARRELL Lauren Pierce ditional hand-dyeing methods. The fledg- from trips she took to remote areas of Y collection; hand-dyed ILL textiles from the ling company’s only mission is to make Guatemala, Chad and Cambodia on behalf Democratic Republic ULLAN.COM supporting women’s causes in the devel- of the World Food Program, for which she M of the Congo; Lauren C ORK; © B Y Pierce dresses fill a oping world fashionable, and when it has served as an honorary spokesperson M comes to the issue at hand, Bush knows since 2004. “I read a lot about gender is- window at Barneys in New York; Bush, who S NEW S NEW ATRICK what she’s talking about. She has smart, sues in developing countries, and I was Y P rarely makes an / considered answers for questions about really lucky to learn not only through re- appearance without ARNE one of her FEED B whether—and how—her company actually search but also through what I saw,” says Y bags; a Congolese benefits women. As she’s explaining ex- Bush. “Women living in impoverished FARRELL Y Y woman with fabric she actly how her social business model works, situations have it the worst, and they’re ILL made for the Lauren Pierce line. PHOTOGRAPHS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CHARLOTTE JENKS LEWIS/STUDIO COURTES it becomes clear that she’s read Banker the ones who are working so hard to sup- JULIE SKARRATT; TOP: FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, © B 62 TOWN & COUNTRY “Giving someone a job that allows them to feed their family is more empowering than giving them a cash donation,” says Bush, wearing one of her port their families. After talking to challenges. To prove it, Bush and spring 2010 designs. The The collection pro- women who are clearly struggling Ytuarte fish out several yards of vided employment for in a way that a man wouldn’t, who Status Bag Cambodian silk from among the sixteen women in the are trying so hard to till land that Since their debut bolts piled in Bush’s apartment, ex- Congo. Lauren Pierce in 2007, more than cotton dress ($590). won’t grow anything, it’s hard not to plaining that they couldn’t use it For shopping informa- want to help them.” Once she did 500,000 FEED because the color was off and the tion, see page 104. her homework and found that bags have been sold. The $35 FEED width wasn’t standard. “We don’t Hair by Laura DeLeon women are more likely than men to feedprojects.com. Haiti bag provides ask for a refund when something for Joe. Makeup by fifty meals for Sandrine Van Slee for educate and vaccinate their chil- like that happens,” says Bush. “We Christian Dior at Art dren and break the poverty cycle, For each $60 Haitian children at just consider it part of doing busi- Department. Manicure FEED 1 bag, $20 a cost of $12.50. by Ana-Maria for Onyx Bush had found her cause. ness with artisans.” Clearly, that’s Salon & Spa at artists After each of its first two seasons, goes to the World not the philosophy of a company for bytimothypriano.com. the Lauren Pierce line donated 10 Food Program— Buy the $25 which the only consideration is the percent of its profits to a charity in the exact amount FEED 10 pouch bottom line. But, says Bush, the the country where the fabric was required for one and $9 goes toward complications are worth it. “I like created—in 2009, the funds went to year’s worth of food and job that everything is hand touched and the Somaly Mam Foundation, which school meals for training for ten each piece of fabric represents the aids survivors of child sex traffick- one child in Africa. women through the woman who made it.” To that end, ing in Cambodia, and to Women for WFP’s Food for Bush not only designs the dresses— Women International, which helps Buy the $195 Assets program. she studied fashion at Central Saint women recover from the ravages FEED 2 Kenya Martins, in London, and interned of war. But the true benefit comes bag and $100 For every $25 with Zac Posen—but personally from the income her company pro- feeds two children FEED READ 3 works on every piece that goes out vides when it buys handmade fabric in Kenya for a year. bag, $4.75 the door. And rather than hiring directly from the women who make Available exclu­ buys a child someone else to do menial jobs, she it. For the current collection, Bush sively at Bergdorf three books spends plenty of late nights doing bought 1,500 yards of fabric from Goodman, NYC. and three meals. last-minute tasks herself. a cooperative in the Democratic Given her background, it might Republic of the Congo run by Wom- seem hard to believe that Bush en for Women, employing sixteen women and Versace made solely from “green” stays up until 3:00 a.m. handstamping in the process. “We’re not just giving fabrics. “I wanted to start an eco-friendly the tags for her clothing line—until you handouts, we’re trying to create a sustain- fashion line, but I knew I couldn’t do it meet her in person. Although she’s grown able business model,” she points out. “We alone,” Bush says of working with Ytuarte, up in the spotlight and her parents’ rather give them a little hope, a little support, who has been instrumental in finding fab- messy divorce became tabloid fodder and we also highlight the beautiful work rics like the organic wool used in the fall when she was still a teenager, she is re- that they’re doing. We could just give a 2009 collection. Ellen Gustafson, the co- markably unassuming, not to mention donation, but providing long-term em- founder of FEED Projects, Bush’s other unguarded. Talking with her feels so ca- ployment and empowering women is philanthropic endeavor—which has raised sual, so natural, that it’s easy to forget more helpful.” more than $5.5 million for the World Food that she is who she is.
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