“If we just look at women as victims we will never see them for the leaders they are," Ambassador Melanne Verveer told Thursday’s crowd at the sixth annual DVF Awards. A group that included Seth Meyers, Alexi Ashe, Steven Kolb, Meredith Melling, and Hannah Bronfman gathered at the United Nations Headquarters to recognize and celebrate the work of Ambassador Verveer, Samoan activist Adimaimalaga Tafuna’i, Pakistani Pashtun documentary filmmaker Samar Minallah Khan, former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, and international aid workers Becky Straw and Jody Landers.
It seemed only right that the majority of women in the room were clad in DVF creations; as Tina Brown said, Diane von Furstenberg dresses women with the goal of “feeling and looking one’s best." “Diane is a woman of many, many facets. I’ve know her for 28 years and everything she does turns to gold," Naomi Campbell praised of the night’s host. Von Furstenberg, who presenter Hillary Clinton described as an “unflagging champion for women and girls," drew fashion friends, political figures, and passionate supporters for an evening that felt very youthful, inventive, and forward. French musician Christine and the Queens performed, and**Dakota Fanning,** Clinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Campbell each presented an award to the night’s honorees.
It was a celebration of worldly women; an event of true positivity, encouragement, and support. Giffords ended the evening with a perfectly summarized call to action: “Be bold. Be courageous. The nation is counting on you.”