Last week, while Pope Francis was visiting New York City, actress Kerry Washington, who plays Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” was inside the Plaza Hotel for a very different reason.
Washington, Dee Ocleppo, and Tommy Hilfiger hosted a cocktail party at the hotel to introduce the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse. The limited-edition handbag was created to draw attention to domestic violence and financial abuse and to raise money for the causes.
Washington serves as a spokesperson for the foundation. She and Ocleppo worked together to design the purse. It is a special-edition crocodile-embossed clutch with a removable cross-body strap, rose gold-tone hardware, and suede lining.
Saks has signed on as the project’s exclusive luxury retail partner. It will sell the Purple Purse both in stores and online, with 25 percent of the proceeds raised to be donated to the Allstate Foundation.
Other celebrities, including Robin Roberts, Alicia Keys, and Natalie Joos, also attended the cocktail party. Washington delivered a speech about the power of fashion. She said she learned about fashion later in life to prepare herself for red carpet events and to market herself. She has come to enjoy fashion and feels passionately about it.
Washington said when she attended the Emmy Awards recently, she wore a dress from Marc Jacobs that many people liked. She said that made her uncomfortable because fashion has become a competition to impress others, rather than a way to make oneself feel good.
Washington said designing the purse was a chance for her to express her interest in fashion in a noncompetitive way. The goal was not to create an “It” bag, but rather to empower women.
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