“It is so nice to see the turnout; it’s very inspiring,” CFDA Chairman Thom Browne, wearing the Old Navy “Fashion For Our Future” T-Shirt, told the crowd of fashion people at Bryant Park after we had collectively made our way to the location from Herald Square where the march had started. “As we stand united, 1,000-plus strong, we are reminded that fashion is not just about what we wear, it’s a powerful voice and platform for what we stand for.

“We are here as the American fashion industry,” he added, “to demonstrate to the world that unity, learning from one another, and supporting democracy and peace, both in America and globally, are vital. That means we all must vote.”

The powerful turnout led by Browne and Anna Wintour indeed spoke to how passionate the American fashion industry feels about democracy and the privilege to vote and determine the nation’s trajectory. Samira Nasr, Joey King, Zac Posen, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung, Joseph Altuzarra, Ulla Johnson, Tracy Reese, Mimi So,  Jeffrey Banks, Ulrich Grimm, Rafe Totengco, Maria Cornejo, John Bartlett, Stan Herman and many, many more joined the march.

“Each of us here represents a weave in the fabric that makes this country so special…that makes this country so beautiful, so strange, so magical, and so fruitful of all of our dreams,” Aurora James said. “This place can be exactly what you make of it. For all of us to prosper, we need to act on the passion and the love for this country that we talk about at the watercooler, that we talk about in group chats. We have to show up and vote.”

I am a Voter was on site at the march to register participants and created toolkits for the fashion industry at large to encourage voter participation during fashion week and beyond.

First Lady Dr. Jill Biden spoke to the power of fashion in shaping the country.

“Fashion has always been our future,” she said. “This much is clear. You walk the walk, and you have always done it together. And that’s what we have to do again this fall. Vote!”