Gigi Hadid Shares How She Is Using Fashion Shows to Help Ukraine
Many celebrities have come out in support of Ukraine after the country was invaded by Russia in late February. For example, some have condemned the war on social media while others are helping to raise money for relief efforts.
Gigi Hadid has also spoken out about helping Ukraine, and she is using runway shows to achieve this goal.
Gigi Hadid has been a runway fixture for several years
Hadid has been modeling since she was a child, though it wasn’t until her young adult years that she found success in the industry.
In 2013, she debuted at New York Fashion Week. Since then, she has walked for designers in different cities, including Tom Ford, Fendi, Versace, Chanel, and Balmain. In 2015, she also made her first appearance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.
Hadid has been a part of numerous fashion weeks, though she did take a break for much of 2020. She was pregnant that year, and many activities were postponed or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Hadid came back to work in early 2021—just months after giving birth to her daughter, Khai.
Hadid is considered a supermodel as she is well-known in both the fashion industry and outside of it. According to The Things, Hadid is one of the highest-paid models in the world, with a reported salary of $20 million a year.
Gigi Hadid is donating money from her shows to help Ukraine
On Mar. 6, Hadid took to Instagram to announce that she would be donating her earnings from fashion shows to help relief efforts in Ukraine.
“Having a set Fashion Month schedule has meant that my colleagues and I often present new fashion collections during heartbreaking and traumatic times in history,” Hadid wrote. “We don’t have control over most of our work schedules, but we would like to walk ‘for’ something.”
She added, “Following in the footsteps of my friend @micarganaraz, I am pledging to donate my earnings from the Fall 2022 shows to aid those suffering from the war in Ukraine, as well as continuing to support those experiencing the same in Palestine. Our eyes and hearts must be open to all human injustice. May we all see each other as brothers and sisters, beyond politics, beyond race, beyond religion. At the the end of the day, innocent lives pay for war- not leaders.”
Hadid also posted several photos and videos from her recent fashion week appearances.
Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid have been outspoken about supporting Palestine
The invasion of Ukraine has been compared to the long-running conflict between Israel and Palestinian people. Hadid’s father, Mohamed Hadid, was born in Palestine in 1948. Hadid and her sister, model Bella Hadid, have been open about their support for Palestine.
In 2021, the two sisters shared several posts on Instagram condemning the violence in their father’s homeland and urged people to stand up for Palestinian people. Bella even joined protests that sought to seek freedom for Palestine.
