Rachel Zoe designs innovative Aflac jacket to promote cancer screenings - USA Today
Leave it to Rachel Zoe to turn a cancer screening reminder into a fashion statement with luxe tech twists.
The fashion designer has teamed with Aflac on a limited-edition bomber jacket designed to encourage people to learn when they should be screened for cancer. The collaboration is part of the insurance company's Check for Cancer campaign, which uses the ubiquitous #Fitcheck social media trend of showing off an outfit to bring attention to cancer screenings.
The partnership brought together fashion and a cause that hit close to home for "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star.
"My family has been really touched by cancer," Zoe told USA TODAY. "And unfortunately, a lot of my friends as well, and many people in my life and my family's life,” she said. “Cancer pretty much touches everybody.”
Zoe said she was immediately drawn to the project because it offered an opportunity to make conversations about screenings more approachable.
"It's kind of my dream because it's combining two things that mean a lot to me," she said, citing fashion and cancer awareness. "I think trying to make that process more accessible to people, and also trying to create style around that concept and making it a little less scary" made the collaboration an "immediate yes."
Zoe's blue bomber features a custom checkered pattern with QR codes incorporated directly into the print. Scanning the pattern takes users to Aflac's Check for Cancer website, where they can use an assessment tool to get information about cancer screenings.
But Zoe didn't want the message to come at the expense of the fashion.
She chose duchess satin because she wanted the jacket to "look and feel very luxurious," along with a chunky gold 12-gauge zipper. The tonal design incorporates two shades of Aflac-like blue. The silhouette also happens lines up with one of Zoe's favorite trends for fall.
"Bombers are definitely, I would say, one of the No. 1 trends for fall right now," she said, calling the jacket "a very versatile piece" that works across generations.
The limited-edition jacket won't be sold. Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 22, adults can complete the Cancer Screening Assessment Tool and an online registration form at CheckForCancerNow.com for a chance to win one of the jacket through Aflac's Fit Checks Sweepstakes, which runs though Oct. 19.
The larger campaign aims to increase cancer screenings by 10% by 2035 and will also feature cancer survivors, influencers and designers, including Isabella Strahan, Bridget Bahl, Kevin Leonel and Lamiah Gholar.
"Most people don't know the proper age that they are supposed to get cancer screening," she said. "Anything that can draw awareness to that is critical."
Zoe is also heading into her second season of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," where she said she plans to approach filming by staying true to herself. Leah Remini and "Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles" real estate agent Tracy Tutor will join Zoe and returning cast members Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Bozoma Saint John and Sutton Stracke for Season 16, which is currently filming.
"All I can ever be is me. All I can never do is be my authentic self," Zoe said. "And, you know, I'm not an actor. I'm not scripted. And I think I just go in and try and have fun."
Zoe added that she is getting to know the cast as filming continues.
"There are some new women on the show this season," she said. "So I think, I just, go at it kind of like I do everything else. I just sort of go in day by day and take it as it comes."
