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Julia Brütsch and Juliette Chrétien are two talented young photographers out of Zurich, Switzerland. Shocked by a documentary on women trafficking, these two committed ladies decided to no longer just sit and watch but stand up against the injustice that is happening right in front of their doors. Consequently, they set up the fund-raising art auction that goes by the name of «Kunst gegen Frauenhandel» (refers to «Art against Trafficking»), which will be in Zurich on June 3rd 2010. We sat down with Julia and Juliette so that they could tell us more about this truly inspiring project.
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What’s «Kunst gegen Frauenhandel» all about?
Julia: «Kunst gegen Frauenhandel» is a fund-raising art auction against trafficking in Switzerland. Over the past couple of months, we were collecting pieces of 20 artists and photographers and are going to auction them in favour of an organisation called FIZ (advocacy and support for migrant women and victims of trafficking). FIZ is specialized in re-integrating the victims of trafficking in either Switzerland or their home country.
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What inspired you to set up this fundraiser?
Juliette: It was in January 2010 when Julia and I were in London to promote our photo portfolios. We ended up watching this documentary on trafficking one night, we were both shocked but didn’t talk about it. Instead, we went straight to bed and those pictures from the documentary haunted both of us in our dreams. The next morning at breakfast one of us picked the subject up again and we both agreed that we could no longer just sit and watch.
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Julia: This documentary was on women trafficking in Switzerland in particular. What shocked us both is the fact that trafficking is such a taboo subject in Switzerland. These women are treated against any rules of humanity right in front of our doors and we just ignored it. Since this organization, FIZ, was part of the documentary, we knew that if we set something up there would be a trustful organization to give the money to. This laid the foundations for the idea of setting up a fundraiser.
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What was it that shocked you so strongly in the documentary?
Juliette: There is this one scene that totally bowled me over. The documentary shows an interview with a procurer and he’s always referring to the women as «goods». The interviewer picks this up and asks back if he meant «women» when he said «goods», and he simply goes: «Yes, we gotta make sure these goods get here». This, I feel, implies all the disrespect and the inhumanity these women are treated with. It overwhelmed me the most. However, we ended up using this idea of women as goods for our visual too in the hope that this will shock people just as much as it shocked us.
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Julia: In my case it was the story of this one portrayed woman from Moldavia. She became a victim of trafficking but luckily made it back home. Then, back home, another guy throws her off the track again and makes her a victim of trafficking once again. She’s asked why she would let them fool her twice and she goes: «What other choice do I have?» This woman is the mom of a baby girl… I just couldn’t believe one could be so desperate to simply give oneself to their oppressor’s mercy.
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So what did you decide to do to make a change for these women?
Julia: When we decided to no longer sit and watch, we immediately thought we could help through our passion for art. We were aware that we had to set up something decent to get our message out there. So it basically took our strong network in the Swiss art scene and a couple of phone calls to get it all started. All the photographers and artists we asked for their pieces were more than happy to support us since they thought it was such a great idea. It was amazing to see what you can set up if you get a lot of dedicated people to contribute their part to the whole.
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How will the collected funds be used to change the future of these women?
Juliette: All the money collected during the art auction will be given to an organization called FIZ. FIZ is an organisation that is in charge of victims of women trafficking in Switzerland, it’s mainly financed by the government but also by private donors. The money we raise at «Kunst gegen Fraunehandel» is going to be invested in a project called «FIZ Makasi» that organizes «protected apartments» for the victims. FIZ looks back on 25 years of experience and we are really glad to be able to give the collected funds to such a committed and trustful organization. It’s good to know the money is in good hands and gets invested exactly where we want it.
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What was the reason that you decided to donate the money from the auction to an organization in Switzerland and not, for example, in one of the countries where the victims are from?
Julia: We thought about giving it to an organization in Moldavia first, but then we asked ourselves why invest in justice in another country when the crime was happening right here in Switzerland? If Switzerland really wants to position itself as a progressive country of the oh so well developed western civilisation, then we have to make sure our vest is untarnished before we begin cleaning someone else’s. We simply can’t no longer accept that this sort of inhumanity is happening right there behind the walls of Swiss houses.
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«Kunst gegen Frauenhandel» will be held for the first time next week. What are you expecting from the event?
Juliette: We of course hope there will be plenty of people to bid for the pieces. It would be nice if we were able to donate a fair amount of money to FIZ, but most important to us is in this first year is to attract the attention to trafficking and remind people that this is still happening. We want to get women that are as privileged as we are to remember that there are many of us out there who are still suffering because they were born as females.
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Julia: As this is the first year, we try to not expect too much but we hope to show that we can make a change without budget but committed people only. Who knows? Maybe we will inspire other female artists in Europe to stand up against this too and help our kind. We would feel honoured.
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For more details, you can check the facebook event here

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The little black bikini. Memorial Day Weekend. Style it up!
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Shop the Twenty-nine Palms bikini…
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Give it the boho touch with a gauzy menswear shirt, pile on the accessories and wear your hair natural and tousled.
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Give it the electric touch with a tie-dye skirt and acid color accessories.
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Give the glam touch with bold and loud accessories and slick back the hair into wet bun.
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Have fun in the sun!

Layering is great.. and I love piling it up… but there is something so great about the carefree days of summer. All you need is simplicity and easy-breezy to make your day complete.
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Ready to embrace the no-fuss attitude? Then start with the San Felipe Creek Skirt. Keep it easy with a bohemian-inspired necklace, summer sandals and statement shades.

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Here is a closer look at our day of filming Styling Webisodes for fall 2010. The goodness of the fall collection is one that just keeps giving. I know we are just heading into summer, but it got me all worked up to wear layers – soft jerseys, cozy knits and delicious jackets – I have already locked in my must-have coat for fall.
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The day was spent at The Standard Hotel Hollywood in the Cactus Lounge which happened to be the perfect complement to my cowboy hat and Vanishing Horizon Tank Dress! I styled-up three looks – featuring a layering look, am effortless and easy dressy look and a tomboy-preppy look!
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Check back in to see the finished product.. coming sometime later this summer!

While most kids are concerned with themselves with game consoles at the age of 12, Leddra Chapman picked up one of her dads acoustic guitars for the fist time. Since that day, the young singer songwriter has never looked back ….
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Today, Leddra is truly one of the most gifted young singer songwriter in Britain. Check out the video below of Leddra performing an amazing acoustic version of the song Sheila by Jamie T.
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Who: Me and the Quiksilver Women’s team
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What: Shooting styling webisodes for the upcoming fall collection.
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Where: The Standard Hollywood in the Cactus Lounge
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Wearing: The Vanishing Horizon Tank dress.. tucked into a lace skirt and layered over a striped bodysuit.

With the sun drenched days of summer quickly approaching, we yearn for chic outfits that will keep us cool. The New River dress is by far one of our favorite styles! Not only is this dress lightweight, but it also has amazing eyelet details in the boddess. You’ll find it’s the perfect dress to transition from a scorching summer day, to a warm summer night.

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Pick up your New River Dress here!

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Independent singer songwriter is the first to tour high street fashion stores.
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Folk-pop artist Ellie Lawson is touring 9 Quiksilver stores in the UK as part of her sponsorship deal with Quiksilver Women. Ellie is a new breed of artist who is working with a brand to release music and build her career in a non traditional way. The pioneering singer who was previously signed with Atlantic records in the USA was championed by chat show host Ellen De Generes and has tracks produced by William Orbit. She will be gathering the crowds by performing with her acoustic band in shop windows on her “Through the Glass” Tour: 
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29th May Mary Mary, Loughborough: 1pm and 5pm
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4th June Joli, Belfast: 7pm
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5th June in Quiksilver Store, Dublin: 1pm and 5pm 
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12th June Quiksilver Store, Brighton: 1pm and 5pm
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19th June Quiksilver Store, Falmouth: 1pm and 5pm
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20th June Quiksilver Store, Newquay: 1pm and 5pm 
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26th June Quiksilver Store, Cardiff: 1pm and 5pm 
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3rd July Quiksilver Store, Bristol: 1pm and 5pm 
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17th July – Quiksilver Store, Covent Garden: 1pm and 5pm 
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The socially conscious singer-songwriter who is working with the charity War Child has her own label called ‘Create your Own reality’ and previously sold 25,000 records touring with the USA book retailer Barnes and Noble. She is currently selling albums and raising finance with her ‘create my next album with me’ campaign via her shop at www.ellielawson.com. Lawson’s performances include opening for the BBC presenter Jimmy Doherty’s festival ‘Harvest at Jimmy’s Farm’ last September in Suffolk where KT Tunstall and Jose Gonzalez headlined. She has also previously played at the Abbey Road studios as part of the Brit awards and performed on the Ellen DeGeneres show where Ellen predicted live on air that Ellie would become ‘the hugest, hugest star.’ Gibson guitar is also supporting Ellie Lawson who plays an EJ-200 acoustic guitar.

Right now we are obsessed with the Sun Works top. It is the perfect fabric for this in-between weather! We love this top because it can transition from your spring wardrobe to summer and even into fall! It’s perfect with denim, cut-offs or our personal favorite look with the Bermuda Dunes shorts! Throw on some cute accessories to top off this look and you’re good to go!
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I am loving it – the Imperial Valley Dress. It is super lightweight, perfect for the hot weather that I am hoping is around the corner, and the tobacco color is my absolute favorite. I am craving a fabulous beach day and this is the dress I will be wearing!
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I will be wearing the Imperial Valley Dress with a big ‘ole floppy hat, round quirky sunnies, animal print roman sandals and of course, carrying a straw bag filled with beachside books and tons of sunscreen.
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What will you be wearing while soaking up the sun?