Fighting Cystic Fibrosis Through Fashion

August 15, 2018

Nic Doorlay, 16, was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California. He is a junior at College Park High School. He has volunteered performing magic at a local senior center, and actively volunteers at the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano. In his free time, Nic participates in Varsity Track and Field for his high school, where he competes in the high jump category. He spends the remainder of his free time doing his calculus homework.

This Saturday in Los Angeles, 15-year-old Grace Rose is hosting a fashion show. While that alone is more than most 10th graders, Grace Rose’s fashion show is for a good cause – finding a cure to cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis, or “CF” for short, is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Having been diagnosed with CF since she was born, Grace Rose knows the daily struggle of living with this disease and is motivated to help find a cure for her and the 70,000 other people worldwide living with CF. Thus, every year since she was 9 months old, Grace Rose and her mom, Leah, have hosted a fashion fundraiser to raise money for the Cystic Foundation. As she grew older, Grace Rose started to become more involved with the design process, and since age 10, has designed the entirety of each collection.

(Courtesy of Grace Rose)

What originally started as an annual fashion show in New Orleans, has grown into an entire brand and website, where people can purchase clothes designed by Grace Rose herself, and help support the fight for a cure to CF – a fight that top doctors at the foundation think they will win.

“The vision is to help cure cystic fibrosis; that’s the ultimate goal,” Grace Rose said, and her fundraising has certainly contributed.

“She has, since she’s been born, helped raise over $300,000 for cystic fibrosis research,” Leah said.

Outside of her own fundraising, Grace Rose stays active in the cystic fibrosis community by fundraising at many events, speaking at California Winemaster’s, which raises over $1,000,000, and helping to kick off their live auction.

The Grace Rose Fashion Fundraiser, now held annually in Los Angeles, has grown significantly in size since its humble beginnings.

“We started with having maybe 70 people, going to 200 to 500, in these past three years,” Grace Rose said.

The runway models have also shifted from friends and family to Nickelodeon, Netflix, and Disney child stars, and the fundraiser has picked up sponsors such as TOMS, Honest Tea, and Boxed Water – but Grace Rose and her mom don’t plan on stopping now.

“I think it would be great to have 1,000 people attend, kind of like the next Met Gala,” Grace Rose laughed.

If you are in the Los Angeles area and are interested in attending the event on August 18th, tickets are still available here.

To learn more about Grace Rose and supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, head over to http://www.gracerosefoundation.com/ or you can purchase items off of Grace Rose’s new clothing line here: https://rosiegstyle.com/.