Therefore, when I was approached by Hidden Warriors, a New York-based nonprofit, which empowers women living with cancer to walk in an official O.C. Fashion Week show, as well as participate in an editorial photo shoot, I was enthused but still hesitant to present myself (and my scars) before an audience.
After her mother’s diagnosis of breast cancer, female visionary Marlene Sarli felt inspired to launch the Hidden Warriors Project. The name came after Sarli discovered her aunt’s chest of headdresses, noting how her posture, body language and attitude changed from hopeless to powerful after trying them on. Investing her own time, funds and energy, Sarli began reaching out to professional wardrobe stylists, makeup artists, photographers and designers to manifest her dream of using makeovers to encourage women living with cancer to tap into their inner “Hidden Warrior.” By adorning cancer-affected women in various headdresses, costumes and face paint during professional photo-shoots, as well as offering therapeutic modalities such as yoga and guided meditations, Hidden Warriors aims to increase each woman’s self-esteem and sense of purpose.
As a testament to this mission, from the moment I was invited to participate until the project’s very end, everyone involved made sure I felt fully supported. On the day of my shoot, while I posed against the whimsical backdrops inside Pillar Box Studios in Los Angeles, I felt surges of power and reinvigoration course throughout my entire body.
Two days later, as I waited backstage at O.C. Fashion Week, I again marveled at the incredible high I was experiencing. While makeup artists and hair stylists fussed over our faces and hair, the other Hidden Warriors and I simply took in our surroundings, honored to share chairs with professional models. Though it was intense, we eagerly awaited the moment in which we, the “Warrior Women,” would open the entire show.
Overall, being shot by an amazing photographer