Yahoo Finance Annie Lennox, Halle Bailey, Julia Roberts Support Gender Equality in New Gucci Chime Videos
MILAN — Gucci is renewing its commitment to Chime for Change, now simply called Chime, and its support of gender equality — and is pulling out all the stops, rallying an impressive group of A-lister friends of the house.
Gucci is unveiling a new video series directed by two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy bringing Annie Lennox, Halle Bailey, Julia Roberts, Idris and Sabrina Elba, Alia Bhatt, Serena Williams, John Legend, Julia Garner, Jodie Turner-Smith and Gucci Chime cofounder Salma Hayek Pinault together to speak out about what equality means to them. The new global campaign celebrates the 10th anniversary of Chime and will bow on Thursday.
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“Freedom” by Chime cofounder Beyoncé is the score in the videos.
“While there have been some great advances in gender equality since we founded Chime 10 years ago, there is still a lot of work to be done,” said Hayek Pinault. “It has been incredible for me to have the opportunity to meet people around the world and see firsthand the impact the campaign has had on so many lives. I’m overwhelmed and inspired by how many people want to participate in the change, and I feel very hopeful for the future. It’s really a fight worth having, now, more than ever.”
Obaid-Chinoy, who is also a member of Gucci Chime’s advisory board and longtime collaborator, lensed a series of 35 videos punctuated with personal anecdotes from the participants on their life experiences and hopes for the future. The films will be available to stream on Gucci’s social channels and official YouTube account.
“As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Gucci Chime, we reflect on the profound impact and influence the campaign has had on so many lives, through the tireless work and commitment of people around the world who fight for change every day,” said Gucci president and chief executive officer Marco Bizzarri. “This is a journey that we embarked on 10 years ago, but the work ahead of us is substantial. Today we recommit ourselves to the next decade of progress and positive change.”
Gucci Chime has so far raised $21.5 million, which has impacted the lives of 635,000 girls and women globally through more than 500 projects in 92 countries through 185 nonprofit partners.
“The commitment of Gucci Chime to amplify voices over the last decade speaks to me and my work,” said Obaid-Chinoy. “Each film in this new series is an important reminder of why we need to champion the voices of those who are working to create change. I hope this campaign will reinvigorate conversations around the world, so that everyone feels the urgency to contribute toward creating a more gender equal future.”
Beyoncé headlined as artistic director the first event held by Chime on June 1, 2013, “The Sound of Change: Live,” a global concert at Twickenham Stadium in London, also hosted by Chime cofounder Frida Giannini, then-creative director of the brand. The lineup comprised Beyoncé’s 45-minute set, which included a duet with husband Jay-Z, Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Jennifer Lopez and Timbaland, who performed a remix of Duran Duran’s hit “Reflex” with Simon Le Bon, among others. Madonna introduced a film about a Pakistani woman, Humaira Bachal, fighting to educate girls in her country.
The concert was broadcast to 1 billion viewers, and drew 50,000 attendees, raising $3.9 million to support girls and women around the world.
Gucci is also harnessing the 10th anniversary of the Gucci Chime campaign to renew its commitment to nongovernmental and grassroots organizations working to advance gender equality around the world. One such partnership is with U.N. Women’s Generation Action Coalitions, through which Gucci serves as the private sector lead on the action coalition dedicated to feminist movements and leadership, a five-year commitment.
Chime advisory board members Tanya Compas and Maryangel Garcia-Ramos, and activists Amanda Nguyen, Vee Kativhu, and Jaha Dukureh, among others, symbolize the brand’s continued commitment to championing the next generation of change.
Working with partners including Equality Now, the Global Fund for Women, Ms. Foundation for Women, Mothers2mothers, U.N. Women and other diverse feminist organizations and movements, Chime projects are led by and serve women of color, Indigenous women and girls, young feminists, disabled women and girls, transgender and gender expansive women, and other groups who have been historically marginalized.
Gucci and its partners will celebrate 10 years of the Chime campaign throughout 2023.
Among some initiatives, in 2019, Chime launched the “Let Girls Dream” project, calling on the global community to end child marriage and speak out for 12 million girls worldwide who are forced to marry each year. That same year, it launched Chime Zine, eventually amplifying the voices of nearly 150 artists and activists from around the world in support of gender equality.
In 2020, the “Stand With Women” initiative with the Kering Foundation directly served 30,000 women and girls impacted by COVID-19 through 80 grassroots organizations around the world.
In 2021, Chime joined the Generation Equality Forum as the private sector leader for the Action Coalition on Feminist Movements and Leadership to accelerate action for gender equality by 2026.
Over the past two years, it has continued its crisis funding for the most vulnerable women and girls around the world, including trans women and women fleeing violence in Afghanistan and Ukraine.
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