Two topics were trending on social media last week. The first was #TheDress craze which dominated the twittersphere and literally tore us apart with the white-and-gold vs. black-and-blue debate (the verdict is, it is black and blue). While I’m personally not too crazy about the bodycon dress that profoundly challenged our collective sense of vision, I was glad that someone – in this case, Salvation Army’s South African branch – used the internet meme to draw attention to the problem of domestic violence with its clever ad.

Salvation Army’s #TheDress ad exposes the problem of domestic violence which affects one in every six women.

The second was #WorldWildlifeDay marked by the United Nations on 3 March. On this occasion, I was delighted to speak at an event in Geneva about the use of wildlife in the fashion and luxury industry. It is, of course, a topic of great interest for me, which I covered on this blog and which was also the subject of my chapter in the recently published book ‘Sustainable Luxury: Managing Social and Environmental Performance in Iconic Brands’ by Greenleaf Publishing.

Supporting #WorldWildlifeDay at the event in Geneva. Photo courtesy Juan Carlos Vasquez.

While #WorldWildlifeDay did not generate 10,000 tweets a minute like #TheDress did at the peak of its internet popularity, it nonetheless reached an estimated 200 million people worldwide – an impressive result for the usually not-so-social-media-savvy United Nations. And the supporters had their own take on the #Dressgate!

Ultimately, whether it is about rhinos or women’s rights, internet can be a powerful tool for promoting a worthy cause. As well as for keeping us guessing! By the way, did you know that the real colour-changing dress was invented in Japan by mimicking the way the blue Morpho butterfly produces its iridescent wing colour without any pigment? Happy World Wildlife Day!

Morphotex dress by Donna Sgro. Photo via donnasgro.com

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