Alicia Keys has been tapped as the face of Stella McCartney’s new breast cancer awareness campaign.
The British fashion designer has designed a limited-edition bra and underwear set, called the Ophelia Whistling style, with the proceeds going to two breast cancer screening centres in the U.S. and U.K.
When it came to selecting a high-profile name to front the campaign, Stella called on the Grammy award-winning star, as she not only has a wide fan base but also saw her mother Teresa Augello fight and overcome the disease.
“I really wanted to show my support for Stella’s campaign by wearing her Ophelia Whistling lingerie set, where a percentage of the proceeds are donated to Memorial Sloan Kettering Breast Examination Center of Harlem (New York),” said Alicia in the accompanying campaign video. “This is super important to me. I was raised in Harlem. So this really resonates with me and also my mother is a breast cancer survivor. I don’t think I’ve ever got to really share that story, so this is important to me.”
Founded in 1979, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Breast Examination Center features an outreach programme and has screened more than 200,000 women for the disease, with experts also providing counselling and education services.
Raising awareness of breast cancer is an important cause for Stella too, as her photographer mother Linda McCartney died from the disease in 1998 at the age of 56.
Accordingly, sales of the pink-hued Ophelia Whistling set will also benefit the Linda McCartney Center in Liverpool, which offers some of the most advanced and innovative cancer treatments available.
“Sadly, I lost my mother to breast cancer 19 years ago. She didn’t meet my children; my children didn’t meet her. And we really are here today to talk to you to raise awareness,” added Stella.
Stella’s lingerie set will be available from her boutiques and select department stores from 1 October (17), to coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It will be priced from $90 to $160 (£66-£120).
