Saks Fifth Avenue Celebrates Pride with Help from Kesha
Pride festivities are in full swing, people, and everyone is celebrating big this year! Take Saks Fifth Avenue and The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative, for example. On Tuesday, June 4, the two came together to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of The Stonewall Inn uprising at The Paradise Club inside the Times Square Edition.
"Tonight we celebrate individuality in all its forms,” Emily Essner, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Digital, Saks Fifth Avenue, said of the event. She continued: "We look forward to continue utilizing our platform to support our diverse customer base and celebrate the LGBTQ community throughout the month of June and beyond."
Hosted by Lenya Bloom, Telly Leung, and Lea Delaria, the tour de force of the evening came thanks to a special performance by none other than Kesha. The singer and activist sang some of her biggest hits like “We R who we R” and “Praying” to a crowd that included actress Dominique Jackson, Kimmy Schmidt star Titus Burgess, and Drag Race alums Peppermint and Dusty Ray Bottoms. Kesha, a steadfast ally of the queer community radiated an aura of love, invigorating the crowd with Janis Joplin-esque vocals.
“Equality for every person is foundational for a truly peaceful existence,” she shared. “It’s worth fighting for, for every one of us to hold equality for each other as sacred, and I believe we must follow in the footsteps of the brave people who stood up against discrimination 50 years ago at the Stonewall Inn.”
In addition to the event, Saks launched their #wherepridebegan digital campaign May 15th that included: Dewayne Perkins, Dionne Warwick Amanda Lepore, Lena DeLaria, Hennessy Carolina, Honey Davenport. Saks and The Stonewall Gives Inn Initiative introduced a capsule collection ranging from $15-$5,495. The capsule collection featured the work of multiple labels like Balmain, Christian Louboutin, Judith Leiber, Prabal Gurung, and Stella Mccartney. Also on sale is an exclusive version of Fred W. McCarran Pride Photographs After Stonewall.
But the party doesn't stop there. From May 15–June 30, Saks Fifth Avenue will be donating 30% of product profits and 100% of the book profits to The StoneWall Gives Back Initiative with Saks Fifth Avenue promising to donate a minimum of $100,000.
We are inspired by Saks’ contribution to the Stone Wall Gives back initiative, you can find out more about their work, here.
