New York, NY – The Smithsonian Institution, East Rock Institute (ERI), Metropolitan Arts League, Korean Cultural Service (KCS), National Museum of Ethnology (Japan), and Sungshin Women’s University (South Korea) have joined hands to host an international fashion gala, ‘Fashion Diaspora – Wearing Your Culture on Your Sleeve’ at the Yale Club of NYC at 7:30 PM on Friday, November 11, 2011. The event celebrates the diverse cultures of NYC through fashion.

Over 250 guests, primarily leaders in the fashion, art, entertainment, media, business and dignitary worlds will be in attendance including Ambassadors, royalty and celebrities.  Among confirmed VIPs include:

• Anson Mount (Star of Hell on Wheels, premiering Nov. 4, 2011 on AMC)
• Prince Lorenzo Borghese (Entrepreneur, writer, star of The Bachelor – Rome)
• Princess Hai Kyung Lee of the last Chosun Dynasty of Korea
• Michael Houghton (Musician, Artist & Fashion Designer of Rock Punk Couture – dressed the Rolling Stone, Aerosmith, Jane’s Addiction, Duran Duran, The New York Dolls, Gregg Allman, and Guns’n Roses)
• Loris Diran (Winner of Fashion Group International RISING STAR award for excellence in menswear – dressed Beyonce, Britney Spears, Ne-Yo, Ricky Martin, Jonathan Rhys Meyer, Nicolette Sheridan, Sofia Milos, Liev Schreiber, Andrew McCarthy and whose clothes were featured in the hit film THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA)
• Ambassador Stephen W. Bosworth (Dean, Fletcher School of Business; former Ambassador to South Korea, Philippines & Tunisia) and Mrs. Christine Bosworth
• Ambassador Kim Young-Mok of the Republic of Korea
• Li Jing, an award Winning TV journalist, social media expert and Sinovision TV Host has been named one of the emcees for the event.  Jing is a bilingual Chinese-English journalist and has interviewed a number of newsmakers including Angelina Jolie, Michael Bloomberg, Jude Law, Michael Phelps, Vera Wang and Vivienne Tam during her career at CBS, NBC and the U.N. She was once voted number one in America during Paradise Hunter global TV host contest.)

Featured designers include: Vivienne Tam, Stephen Burrows, Loris Diran, Michael Houghton and Cody Sai (additional designers will be announced later).

Extensive international, local, fashion and society press is expected including Getty Images, WireImage, Korean, Chinese, African, African-American, Latin American coverage, etc.

Other VIPs on the Fashion Diaspora Committees are: Vivienne Tam, Nigel Barker (Renowned photographer, and filmmaker, author & judge on the show, America’s Next Top Model), Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India,  Scott Elliot (Artistic Director of the esteemed NY theater group, The New Group), Earl D. Weiner (Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee of the Alliance Bernstein Funds; Chairman of the Board of the Theatre Development Found & The Acting Company; Chairman Emeritus & current Trustee, Brooklyn Botanic Garden), Laurie A. Cumbo (Founder & Executive Director, the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts), and Paul J. Donohue (Co-Founder, WireImage, MediaVast & ImageLocker; technology entrepreneur & investor).

The event is Co-Chaired by Hesung Chun Koh, Ph.D. (Co-Founder & Chair, East Rock Institute), Jeanine Jeo-Hi Kim, M.B.A. (Founder, Metropolitan Arts League, Dir. of Special Events, ERI), Diana Baird N’Diaye, Ph.D. (Curator, Center for Folklife and Heritage, the Smithsonian Institution), and Christopher Park, M.D., Ph.D. (President, East Rock Institute).

Garments and adornments from various ethnicities representing New York City’s diverse immigrant population will be exhibited during the first half of the runway show, including Sungshin Women’s University’s exquisite collection of Korean garments spanning numerous centuries and dynasties, as well as other, curated homeland garments including Senegalese and Indian pieces.  The second half of the show will showcase exciting, emerging designers of various ethnicities based in NYC. (Full list will be disclosed in later release).   Not only a fashion show but also a cultural event, Fashion Diaspora aspires to emphasize and draw attention to the cultural influences underlying garment and adornment designs and to celebrate its theme, “Unity in Diversity.”

Proceeds will help support the educational and youth development efforts of East Rock Institute, the Bronx-based youth group Mind-builders Creative Arts Center for their participation in The Smithsonian’s Will to Adorn Initiative, and the Metropolitan Arts League.

East Rock Institute (ERI) is a nonprofit research and educational organization dedicated to the enhancement and deepening of cultural understanding between Eastern and Western societies through innovative approaches to research and teaching. The CultureWear project was launched by the East Rock Institute and its international collaborators to develop comprehensive material for teaching youth about cultural identity and diaspora through the study of cultural influences embedded in fashion. One of its goals is to build a ‘Virtual Diaspora Museum,’ which will allow a broader audience to explore their cultural identities and the influence of diaspora.

The Smithsonian Institution’s Will to Adorn Initiative is a project that explores and shares the diversity of African American culture found in the cultural aesthetics of garments and adornment.  Through its work with the Bronx-based youth group, Mindbuilders, the Will to Adorn engages young African-Americans, aged 14-21, to discover and learn about their traditions, cultures, and identity, both as a community and as individuals, through the examination of African American dress, adornment, and design.

The Metropolitan Arts League was established to serve as a voice for artists and artistic groups and to foster youth development among economically disadvantaged groups through creative initiatives.  Among its activities are talk-backs with theater groups, independent film screenings, art tours and discussions with artists.  Its website, www.metroartsleague.com, features interviews with both well known and lesser known artists and serves as an educational tool for young aspiring artists.  Its long-term goal is to establish a foundation that supports artists and artistic groups, particularly those in under-represented and under-funded groups and those that foster youth development, as well as creative initiatives (such as writing, design and film competitions among inner-city high school students) that encourage and reward economically disadvantaged youth for their creative achievements.