For Carly Cushnie, who co-founded Cushnie et Ochs with Michelle Ochs, supporting the ACLU is deeply personal. To that end, the London native, who is based in New York, sported the ribbon when she took her bow at the end of the label’s spring 2018 show last Friday. Here, she tells us why she feels strongly about this cause.

Why is it so important to you to participate in Fashion for ACLU?

So many basic human rights are being stripped away from us right before our eyes, I don’t think there’s any other choice but to support.

What personal message do you hope to convey by taking part in the initiative?

There couldn’t be a better time to use fashion week as a platform to support the ACLU. I’m a non-American black woman married to an American-born Mexican man. This is all extremely personal.