Rosario Dawson arrived at New York Fashion Week with some moves. The 40-year-old actress was spotted at The Shows at Gallery I at Spring Studios to debut her new collection for her brand Studio 189. There were maxi dresses, patterned skirts and colorfully eclectic blouse and pant combos for both women and men. The lively catwalk was then topped off with a performance that got the crowd moving, including Rosario, who was thriving and having the time of her life.
The actress, who is currently dating 2020 Presidential candidate Cory Booker, arrived to her show with a matching jacket and pants getup paired with a simple tee that read "Ghana" across the middle. During the runway, she was sitting front row and taking pictures with the rest of the attendees. She then lead the charge for an impromptu dance party as the performer of the night sang some tunes.
Accompanying Rosario was her friend and business partner Abrima Erwiah. Studio 189 was co-founded by the two ladies in 2013 after they took a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo with V-Day—an organization that supports and works with the City of Joy, a leadership center focused on helping women who have been affected by sexual violence in the region. In order to further help these women to be self-sustaining, Rosario and Abrima created their artisan fashion lifestyle brand to be headquarted in Ghana. Every piece of apparel and accessory is produced by local artisans and moreover, continues to aid these women.
Rosario previously opened up what it means to create a collection that's sustainable. “Sustainability, for me, means that these organizations can have something that they can grip onto,” she told Forbes after winning the highly-coveted CFDA Lexus Fashion Initiative for Sustainability award. “And a non-for-profit is not necessarily something that is going to show up in the right way for them. It’s not as consistent as it could be. We reward the work that these women are already doing, and collaborate with them so that the funds that we make together could be something that puts their kids through school.”