Karan is backing the hip American political empowerment campaign, Rock the Vote, through DKNY Jeans, with which it has launched an exclusive merchandising partnership.
At the same time, Combs, also known as P Diddy and Puff Daddy, has launched the non-partisan Citizen Change campaign to shake up the 42m Americans between 18 and 30 who are eligible to vote but often fail to register. Combs said that he wants to make voting cool in "the same way we make a Biggie album, a Sean John shirt or a 'Spider-Man' movie cool and sexy".
The DKNY Jeans deal will create co-branded T-shirts for the Rock the Vote campaign with slogans including "You decide", "Vote: it's important", and "You have the power". The range goes on sale today in the run-up to the US Presidential election in November.
Founded in 1990 by people in the music industry, Rock the Vote is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to protecting freedom of expression and empowering voters. The campaign receives massive funding and campaign support from corporate sponsors such as Virgin Megastores, MTV, Sony, AOL, Motorola and Ben & Jerry's, and is supported by hundreds of musicians and actors, including Robbie Williams, Madonna and Samuel L Jackson.
Karan, whose official title is chief designer of Donna Karan International, said: "Exercising your right to vote is an expression of your individuality and is the true spirit of America. I'm thrilled that DKNY Jeans can create something to support Rock the Vote."
The campaign has registered more than 3m new voters through its street teams and presence at concerts, festivals, on campuses and in coffee shops. Last week, Virgin Megastores in the US announced that shoppers would be able to pick up voter registration forms in store.
Rock the Vote president, Jehmu Greene, said: "The dynamic among fashion, music and political empowerment has steadily evolved, from flapper suffragettes in the 1920s to countless groups today."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
