Even though we’re in a recession and a personal loan might be nice, it’s grounding to think that there are those worse off. Last Wednesday, designers such as Diane von Furstenberg and student/model Elettra Wiedemann lent their faces for a FINCA fund raising event at Milk Studios titled Wishful Thinkers. FINCA is a non-profit that specializes in lending micro-loans to women in developing countries such as Tanzania and Kyrgystan. Each woman’s portrait hung on spare walls and it was refreshing to see that the faces were finished not with the usual heavy-handed airbrushing but by the more realistic hand of Pistol Studios’ Jason Tuchman.

I spotted her blondness, designer Erin Fetherston, looking immaculately offbeat chic checking out her own portrait. And I chatted with Marie Suter, who put the whole thing together with Viki Forshee. Marie was excited and relieved that the fund raising event came together. “It’s really a crazy story,” she said.  “I was working at Jane [magazine] and on the way to the airport to cover FINCA’s work in Uganda, when I found out, literally in the car to the airport that Jane had folded. I came back to the offices and it was over, but then I was thinking later that this is too great to miss. So I started Blackstar with Viki and we wanted to do a project with FINCA anyways.” Looking from the star-studded and industry-elite group of women on the walls, it’s more like wishful doing.

Erin Fetherston for FINCA

Debbie Harry for FINCA

Diane von Furstenberg

Helena Christensen

Iman

Kate Spade

Glenda Bailey

Elettra Weidemann