LEFT: At opening day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, supermodel Angela Lindvall cuts the ribbon to unveil the Red Dress Collection and launch the red dress as the symbol for women and heart disease. The Collection includes 19 dresses contributed by America's hottest fashion designers, including (pictured left to right) Diane von Furstenburg, Vera Wang, and Nicole Miller and is part of a national campaign sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services.

Participating designers

Bill Blass
Anne Klein
Badgley Mischka
Chaiken (Jeff Mahshie)
Calvin Klein
Oscar de la Renta
Diane von Furstenberg
Michael Kors
Vivienne Tam
Carolina Herrera
Ralph Lauren
Carmen Marc Valvo
Tommy Hilfiger
Luca Luca
Vera Wang
Marc Jacobs
Catherine Malandrino
Donna Karan
Nicole Miller

Additional information

NHLBI
Heart Truth Campaign
American Heart Association: Simple Solutions
National Women's Health Information Center
Womenheart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
Call 1 800 575-WELL for a brochure on heart disease

AST WEEK, US Department of Health and Human Services’ Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a new national partnership with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and top fashion designers to raise awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of American women.
   The centrepiece of the Heart Truth campaign is the Red Dress Project, launched in New York City by HHS' National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 19 participating fashion designers, Mercedes-Benz USA and Seventh on Sixth, the producers of Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week.
   It is a way for the industry to give back, particularly in an age when the public is calling for corporate responsibility. Cardiovascular disease needs attention—it has killed more than half a million women each year in the US since 1984.
    The Red Dress Project includes a collection of 19 red dresses from America's most prestigious designers. The dresses symbolize the fact that heart disease is a woman's health issue as well as a man's. The dresses will be exhibited, along with information about women and heart disease, in Bryant Park, February 7–14, when American designers unveil their new designs for the fall.
   The Red Dress Project exhibit will also feature a photograph by David LaChapelle of model Angela Lindvall in a dress designed by Donna Karan. Also débuting during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is a specially designed red dress pin, created by leading accessory designer Angela Cummings and an exclusive Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week magma red C320 Sportscoupé.
   In focus group testing, the Red Dress was found to be a memorable icon that resonated with women across the country. And, the testing also revealed that the Red Dress and the accompanying “heart disease doesn't care what you wear” message captures women's attention and makes women think about their own personal risk of heart disease.
   The fashion industry's support provides a powerful platform for NHLBI to issue this heart health “wake-up call” to millions of women. ‘This partnership with NHLBI is about helping women take action to take care of their heart health. If women aren't doing that, then it isn't going to matter what colour their dress is,’ said Fern Mallis, executive director, Seventh on Sixth.
   Heart disease risk factors include those that are beyond women's control and those that can be changed. Those that can't be changed are a family history of early heart disease and age. The risk factors that can be controlled are smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity and diabetes. While having even one risk factor is dangerous, having multiple risk factors is especially serious, because risk factors tend to “gang up” and worsen each other's effects.
   ‘The good news is that heart disease is preventable,’ notes Susan Bennett, MD, cardiologist and medical adviser to the Heart Truth campaign. ‘Family history can't be changed, but there are definite steps women can take to lower their risk. Heart disease shouldn't be killing one in three of us.’
   Research shows that women are more worried about cancer than heart disease—especially breast cancer. According to a survey commissioned by the National Council on the Aging, only nine per cent of women ages 45 to 64 name heart disease as the condition they most fear, while 61 per cent name breast cancer. Yet, heart disease, which includes coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, angina, and other conditions, is the leading cause of death in American women, accounting for 366,000 deaths in 2000.
   In addition to the fashion industry, NHLBI has formed partnerships with the American Heart Association, HHS' Office on Women's Health, Womenheart: the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease and other organizations committed to advancing the women's heart health movement. •

Sourced in part from the press release.