International Women's Day 2023
SIR. x Worn For Good | International Women's Day
We have partnered with our friends at Worn For Good in support of The Red Cross Turkey / Syria Earthquakes appeal. Supporting the hundreds of thousands of women, children and families who remain in immense need.
Here, SIR. x Worn For Good muses Olivia Suleimon, Christelle Scifo and Rebecca Burrow share insight into how women have, and continue to inspire them daily, while capturing the essence of our International Women’s Day Edit; a curation of three pieces from our new collection, donated to Worn For Good.
By shopping the SIR. x Worn For Good International Women’s Day edit, 100% of profit will go back to The Red Cross Turkey / Syria Earthquakes appeal.
With your support, we can further support and aid women, children and families who need it most and continue to empower women, always.
Shop in support via Worn For Good here.
Olivia Suleimon
Who inspires you, and why?
I’ve recently lost my maternal grandmother quite suddenly to cancer. This recent loss has had me reflecting on her life and the many people she touched through charitable works and her innate sense of kindness which seems to be a running theme whenever people mention her.
Experiencing grief for the first time has been an interesting experience but I am comforted by how she lived her life and inspired to live mine in a similar way.
I’ve been reminded that it’s not the accolades and achievements that people remember when we are gone, but the acts of service and kindness that we do for one another.
Name a moment or event that has made you proud to be a woman?
As previously mentioned, it was in witnessing my mother care so tenderly and selflessly for her own mother that truly made me proud to be a woman.
My grandmother mentioned to keep your circle of women close, as they will be there for you when you need them the most and to watch this seamlessly play out, demonstrating to me the innate power and strength that we all carry within us.
That it is this depth of compassion, which can at times leave us vulnerable to be hurt, seemingly more easily than our male counterparts , it can also be an incredible pillar of strength that can guide us through hard times.
Do you have a favourite book, movie, quote or figure in history that has empowered you or changed the way you thought about women?
Tyler Perry’s, ‘For The Coloured Girls’ was pivotal in my education of the plight of many POC women around the world, that we never truly know what’s going on behind closed doors and that we all carry our own trauma.
It emphasised the vulnerability that comes with womanhood as well as the triumphant spirit we carry in the face of adversity.
What role or impact would you like to play (small or big) in relation to women's rights, today?
I’d like to be intentionally open, patient, and kinder to my fellow woman. To reflect on what women have historically gone through and appreciate where we are today.
How will you be spending this IWD?
I will be spending IWD much like I do most days, however with an awareness of the day, and an intention to continue to push myself forward and achieve my goals, which further demonstrates to other women that they can do anything they set their mind to.
Olivia wears our Vista Frill Midi Dress.
Christelle Scifo
Who inspires you, and why?
My mother and her sister's for their unconditional love, their resilience and determination, passing on their love of flowers, their incredible work ethic, pure hearts and open minds. My cousin who is like a sister to me, she is my soul sister and a part of me, as well as my closest girlfriends for knowing me often better than I know myself, for their loyalty, inspiration, unwavering support, care and friendship.
Name a moment or event that has made you proud to be a woman?
When my nieces Haven, 6 months and Noelle, 4 years old were born and when I am able to flower, style and create an atmosphere for an event or space shared and gathered together with creatives, colleagues and friends; all like minded, strong, intelligent and talented women.
Do you have a favourite book, movie, quote or figure in history that has empowered you or changed the way you thought about women?
My mother read me Little Woman when I was a child, this stayed with me my entire life. I grew up as a dancer studying ballet so the stories of great prima ballerinas too were my inspiration; Anna Pavlova, Margot Fonteyn and Sylive Guillem.
What role or impact would you like to play (small or big) in relation to women's rights, today?
I have been deeply saddened and have been following, learning, sharing and supporting causes and women in dire need around the world, especially those in Iran, Syria, Iraq and in Afghanistan right now. But the world over the biggest issues concerning women's rights to education, equality, displacement, healthy care, safety and sexual exploitation. More must be done. I hope to continue to do more in spreading awareness, donating, learning, reading in trying to understand the gravity of the inequality in order to best contribute and do my part.
How will you be spending this IWD?
Working on the flowers styling and creating, coffee with girlfriends, a Pilates class, an ocean swim to start and end the day and spending time being inspired by nature.
Christelle wears our Emme Tiered Dress.
Rebecca Burrow
Who inspires you, and why?
I am inspired daily by all the women around me for so many different reasons. Not only for achieving incredible life goals in their personal and professional lives but for the unique way in which they can be so strong yet vulnerable at the same time. I think women possess the talent of being fearless to dive into their emotions and get to the core of their essence which makes us a force to be reckoned with. I am inspired by my mother who was the most selfless and strong human I have ever come across. She moved to Australia after meeting my dad to a new place away from all her family and friends but was confident enough to take a leap and follow her heart. She taught me to do everything with love and to be fearless in the pursuit of my passions.
Name a moment or event that has made you proud to be a woman?
Childbirth was the most incredible and mind blowing experience of my life. I decided that I wanted to experience the true extent to what my body was capable of (if possible of course and I was more than willing to change this if I needed to do so) so I opted for a drug free natural birth. Both of my babies were born into the water and it was a wild experience to know what the female body can do. It is by far the most powerful yet vulnerable feeling that I will ever feel in my life.
Do you have a favourite book, movie, quote or figure in history that has empowered you or changed the way you thought about women?
It sounds incredibly trivial but recently I watched the Pamela , A Love Story documentary and I feel like it really changed the way I think about women. We create so many horrific patterns growing up and the way I thought about women was one of them. My thoughts on women in the sex worker industry, women who appear in provocative magazines and open nudity has changed significantly over the last decade. I guess these women were shamed by so many and even in our households growing up as our parents did not want us to go down the same path.
The way Pamela spoke about her reasons for shooting playboy after finding out about her shocking past and the way she was taking back ownership of her body was so powerful to me. I have also grown up to be less judgemental and more understanding of people for their decisions.
What role or impact would you like to play (small or big) in relation to women's rights, today?
I would absolutely love for women to have the right to feel safe at all times. I would love to see domestic violence rates decrease because the rate that we see another woman lost to DV is horrific. It seems crazy that this is something that we have to fight for and not just a given, for the simple right to feel safe. When walking home at night, when coming home, when meeting new partners. I have a beautiful friend who changed the law in the UK to make it illegal for someone to take a photo up the skirt of a woman. It is wild to think that there has to be laws put in place for this and it is not just just common decency. We can be more powerful than we think. She was just a regular girl who was passionate about making other women feel safe and she made a huge impact. I think we can all do the same if we put our mind to it.
How will you be spending this IWD?
With my two beautiful daughters. We will tell stories of the women we love and why we love them, we will talk about what they love about themselves and what they love about being a female. I will tell them how powerful they are and how beautiful they are. We will talk about how lucky we are to be women in this day and age and how they should always lift up the women around them.
Rebecca's season favourite is our Bettina Shirred Mini Dress.