On the 13th of March, Amnesty International held an auction in Brussels to raise funds for their work to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). The auction was comprised of 5 lots from 5 designers including the legendary Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck (pictured), our friend and great supporter Adriana Bertini who attended from Brazil as well as super-milliner Elvis Pompilio. All works incorporated paper rose petals that members of the public signed to pledge their support to end FGM.

Two lots were sold "Fones" by Nayia Evangelou from Cyprus as well as "Les Elles" by Elvis Pompilio from Belgium. The website is still open if you want to make a donation: http://www.endfgm.eu/en/a4a

Female Genital Mutilation although illegal in a lot of countries, in parts of Africa and the Middle East, it is seen as a rite of passage and incitement to chastity. But the reality is these excisions conducted by unqualified "cutters" without anaesthetic has devastating long-term effects on reproductive health of thousands of girls and women.

Urgent efforts are required to end this profoundly damaging practice and we applaud the work of Amnesty International. To learn more about the work they are doing visit their website: http://www.endfgm.eu

All photos by: Elio Germani.

Walter Van Beirendonck

Elvis Pompilio

Ilaria Venturini

Nayia Evangelou

Adriana Bertini