A Night of Freedom and Fashion

By Pat Hsieh

I love fashion and I love social justice. I was planning to attend Freedom and Fashion as soon as I heard that the event would be held at NewSong Irvine this year, so when Janice Yu asked me to represent NEO (NewSong Mexico City) at FnF, I jumped on board. NEO’s presence at FnF was to raise awareness about its safehouse for victims of human trafficking (“El Pozo” or “The Well”) and to raise funds for this ministry through the sale of jewelry.

From what I could see with my human eyes, Freedom and Fashion was a huge success. The place was packed with people and we sold over $1000 of jewelry for El Pozo. I feel really great about raising money and awareness for such an important ministry, but the experience left a deeper imprint in my heart that will hopefully last a long, long time.

In the weeks prior to the show, I was feeling stressed out about making enough jewelry to sell at our booth. I knew that Janice was planning to make pieces, too, but didn’t know how much time she would have because El Pozo had just opened. God gently told me that it was more important to pray over the show because it was about what He would do through it, as opposed to what I could do on my own. Even so, God brought me some partners. Cindy Park and Kumi Nakagomi helped me to make jewelry. Kumi, My Le, and Sandra Thio came with me to the actual event to set up, talk to people, sell jewelry, and break down. I am so thankful for their partnership. Being the type of person who is reluctant to ask for help, I am learning how to trust and rely on others.

At FnF, a lot of information was shared about human and sex trafficking. When I think about how widespread this problem is, not only in numbers but also geographically across the world, I feel overwhelmed. When I think about what life is like for a girl who is a victim of sex trafficking, especially compared to what life is like for my own daughters, I literally feel like throwing up. Then God reminded me that, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Next Step

By Sandra Thio

Approximately 1,300 people attended Freedom and Fashion Showcase + Tradeshow held on Saturday, Nov. 6th at Newsong Irvine. Jeannie Mai, from Style Network’s “How do I Look?”, hosted the event and shared her poignant journey of how she became aware of human trafficking. Before every line of clothing was modeled on stage, a series of video clips highlighting the designers--organizations and businesses dedicated to fair trade and/or awareness of human trafficking—was shown. Vendors were on site to provide information about their cause and promote their products.
“I had no idea what Freedom and Fashion (FnF) was all about until the night of the event. When Pat Hsieh asked if I would be interested in selling jewelries at FnF and that all profits would go towards El Pozo (a safe house in Mexico City for victims of human trafficking), I said, ‘YES, of course I would help out!’

The event as a whole was AWESOME! Selling handmade jewelries and engaging with people asking about our Cause was humbling. The theme of this event was about “Redemption”, which means rescuing people from something and then giving them the freedom to live. The clothes highlighted on the runway definitely communicated redemption. It was remarkable how the many different non-profit organization (i.e. Newsong NEO, Kristinit, Not For Sale, Definicion, etc.) using fashion to raise awareness in fighting against human and sex trafficking.

I became aware of human trafficking in December 2009 when my husband and I went on a mission’s trip to Mexico City. Through this FnF event, I am more knowledgeable to the different non-profit organization out there. Now the next step is how I can get involved.”