Body of Resistance 2025: AnaOno x Cancer Culture Fashion Show

By DANA DONOFREE

The Cancer Culture x AnaOno runway at New York Fashion Week was not about spectacle, it was about protest. Every model walking was a patient, survivor, or thriver demanding equity, research, and change.

We’ve worn the ribbons. We’ve walked the walks. But awareness alone hasn’t stopped the dying. Every single day, 116 women die of metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. and still, only 2–5% of breast cancer research funding goes toward MBC.

On this stage, fashion became resistance. Every step said: we will not be silenced, we will not be erased, and we will not wait another decade for progress.

This show told that story of the patient experience. It opened with four previvors who have all taken charge of their genetic diagnosis, followed by our models diagnosed at an earlier stage. Dressed in light pink to symbolize the beginning support of “the pink ribbon” and transitioned to tan as the patient evolves in their diagnosis and treatment experience to see the flaws and pinkwashing that can occur. The show was then closed by eight fierce metastatic women, armored in all black, fighting for their right to research and validation. The final walk was a powerful march in a bright pink display of reclamation and unity calling all who are touched by breast cancer to stand together, because when stage 4 gets more, everyone wins.

Each model brought her own story, her own defiance, and her own reason to resist. A few of our model stories highlight how this disease doesn’t care who you are, your age or your appearance.

Marissa Kimmel: A 32-year-old creative, homemaker, mother, and wife who spends her time wandering this world and trying to soak in every second of time. She was diagnosed with my Brca1+ genetic mutation in 2019 when she was 26 years old and decided to have a preventative mastectomy without reconstruction in 2021. She has been intentionally creating a body that feels most like her ever since and shares all of it with her community in real life and online.

Model is Wearing: No Show Briefs by AnaOno, Leather Peplum by Brunetka Harness and Jewelry by L George Designs

Leila Esmaeili: Leila is a dermatology PA who was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2024 at the age of 31. Throughout months of intensive chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, she bravely documented her entire journey on social media, offering an unfiltered look into life with cancer. Today, Leila channels her experience into purpose providing guidance, support, and hope to women around the world who face a similar diagnosis.

Model is Wearing: Trish Bra and No Show Briefs by AnaOno, Leather Skirt by Brunetka Harness and Jewelry by L George Designs

Diamonique Valentine: a breast cancer survivor, wife, mama, and wellness advocate devoted to healthy, intentional, and conscious living. Diagnosed at 27, she transformed her healing into a platform that empowers women to care for their bodies, reclaim their voice, and build lives rooted in presence and purpose. Through storytelling she inspires others to turn their pain into power and live fully, every day.

Model is Wearing: Bra and Underwear by AnaOno, Leather Wrist Pieces by Brunetka Harness and Jewelry by L George Designs

Cheryl Law: I am fearful and I’m faithful; so securely insecure. For this life I am grateful. Love is the greatest cure. Cheryl was a practicing physician but was diagnosed stage IV with metastatic breast cancer to her brain. Although Cheryl still maintains her certification, she is unable to practice medicine due to her illness.

Model is Wearing: The Rachel Unilateral Bra and No-Show Brief by Anaono, Leather Peplum by Brunetka Harness and Jewelry by L George Designs

Purpose and Fundraising

Body of Resistance 2025 was a reclamation, a declaration, and a call to action for everybody touched by breast cancer. Together, in partnership with MBC Cure, AnaOno and Cancer Culture raise over $200,000 for metastatic breast cancer research that is focused on curative intent.

This collaboration will enable synergies between these two MBC focused organizations with a shared commitment to empower patients and accelerate progress in the fight against MBC. The collaboration aims to amplify fundraising success, propel scientific breakthroughs, and create an influential model of impact and hope for the MBC community with a focus on improving the lives of those affected by this disease.

This runway carried the voices of millions. It was a call to action against the systems that underfund, overlook, and underestimate us. It was and is a reminder that patients are not props; we are the movement.

This was fashion with a purpose. This was protest in motion.

This isn’t awareness. This is a demand: FUND THE RESEARCH.

See More Breast Health Articles in Dana’s Column on Lingerie Briefs