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Olympians & celebs participate in annual Red Dress Collection Fashion Show

posted by Pretty Tough | Girls Who Are Fun Fierce & Feminine
Friday, February 27, 2009 at 1:45pm CST

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2008 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin was among the Olympians and celebrities who participated in the sixth annual Red Dress Collection Fashion Show on Friday, Feb. 13 at Bryant Park in New York City. February is National Heart Month, and the fashion show is part of the month-long activities to raise women’s heart disease awareness.

Celebrities and Olympians joining Liukin on the runway included swimmer Amanda Beard, Brittany Snow, Daisy Fuentes, Hilary Duff, Jane Kaczmarek, Jennie Garth, Katie Couric, skater Kristi Yamaguchi, boxer Laila Ali, Lynda Carter, Natasha Henstridge, Nia Long, Patricia Arquette, Samantha Harris, Susan Lucci, Tori Spelling, Valerie Bertinelli and Vivica A. Fox.

For the stars, walking the catwalk was a piece of cake. “Everyone keeps telling me that if you can walk on a beam, then you can probably do this,” says Olympian Nastia Liukin, dressed in a very gymnastic Max Azria dress.

Participating designers included Badgley Mischka, Betsey Johnson, Carmen Marc Valvo, Carolina Herrera, Christian Siriano, Cushnie et Ochs, Daniel Swarovski, David Meister, Donna Karan, Gustavo Cadile, Isaac Mizrahi, Kevan Hall, Marchesa, Max Azria, Michael Kors, Nicole Miller, Tracy Reese, Vera Wang and Verrier.

For the first time, several of the dresses and accessories worn by celebrities in the fashion show will be auctioned to raise funds for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, which will use the proceeds to benefit and fund efforts related to women’s heart health awareness and research. The auction, extended until March 6th, is through http://www.clothesoffourback.org/.

This is the sixth year the show has been produced, and it’s clear women are taking notice. Deaths from heart disease have gone down in each of the seven years since 1999, a decrease of more than 15%, according to the National Institutes of Health. To find out more ways to protect yourself against heart disease, visit Heart Truth.