International
The Crowds Turn out for the Blue Jacket Show at NYFW
Photos by Craig Barritt/Getty Images
by Lisa Arcella
February 12, 2019
Dr. Bobby Liaw and Reshema Kemps-Polanco, Vice President, Janssen Oncology with prostate cancer advocates Rick Davis and Alan Messer
Sonja Morgan and Luann de Lesseps
Nigel Barker and Drake Bell
Rick Davis
Victoria Brito
Alex Lundqvist Jr. and Alex Lundqvist
Eric West
Steven Kolb
Jeremy Carver
Billy Porter
Harry Lennix
Sean Michael Frazier
Dr. Bobby Liaw and Reshema Kemps-Polanco
Leo Chan and Jacob Thompson
Tommy Hilfiger, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss and Gustavo Moscoso were just a few of the designers that participated in the third annual Blue Jacket Fashion Show during New York Fashion Week on February 8th. Over 500 people packed Pier59 Studios to see famous and some not so famous men walk the runway to support the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Drake Bell, Billy Porter, Nigel Parker, comedian Mario Cantone and a host of actors and athletes and even Real Housewives of New York stars Sonja Morgan and Countess LuAnn walked in the event sponsored by Janssen Oncology and Men’s Health Magazine.
Rick Davis, a prostate cancer patient and advocate (the Answer Cancer Foundation) walked in honor of his AnCan cofounder Rob Barniskis, who passed away last year from the disease.
“Rob was so excited about walking in the show last year and then he way too sick to do it,” he says. “So I’m thrilled to be a part of it now to honor him and raise awareness.”
Just as the popular “Red Dress” runway event attracts famous faces to raise awareness of breast cancer, The Blue Jacket event is trying to break the stigma that prostate cancer is strictly a disease that affects the elderly.
According to Janssen, one in nine men will be diagnosed with the disease that affects 14 million worldwide. In fact there is a prostate cancer diagnosis every 17 minutes and affects men at every age category, but early diagnosis and testing is key.
“The number one problem is that men don’t want to talk about this,” says Blue Jacket founder Frederick Anderson. “We are attempting to open the conversation about prostate cancer through this event.”
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