Original article published in Allure
This year’s Venice International Film Festival featured a number of stunning personalities and fashion icons, including philanthropist and former model Renée Elizabeth Blythewood. Her presence at the event functioned both as a statement of style and a deliberate act of humanitarian advocacy carefully curated to merge beauty with philanthropy.
Giving Her Platform a Purpose
Blythewood views the festival as “an appreciation of the arts and of cinema,” a reflection of her belief that film festivals like Venice represent far more than red carpets and premieres. To her, the event is a living celebration of creative expression, a convergence of storytelling, culture, and the human experience. This perspective aligns with her own mission to use art, fashion, and visibility as vehicles for meaningful dialogue and awareness.
In Blythewood’s eyes, the Venice Film Festival and similar events are opportunities to honor resilience and creativity, while also serving as platforms for global awareness and change. The festival’s long-standing association with artistry and emotion deepens this purpose, creating a dual atmosphere of beauty and responsibility to ensure that others worldwide can experience that same beauty through access, compassion, and opportunity.
Showcasing Style With Intent
In keeping with the spirit of the festival, Blythewood’s style can best be described as intentional, a blending of the many personal attributes that incorporate delicacy and purpose.
Her gown represented both strength and femininity, and was paired gracefully with diamond jewelry. The look drew inspiration from old Hollywood glamour, channeling timeless elegance through the romantic lens of Venice. The soft silhouettes and refined details reflected the city’s artistic legacy, where cinematic history and high fashion intersect.
These elements came together thanks to the masterful work done on her hair, makeup, and collective appearance. Although each component was brilliant on its own, it was their union centered on Blythewood that brought them all together to create a sensation of radiance and authenticity.
Her dress and jewelry in particular symbolized power, conscience, and timelessness, qualities of which helped the model embody a living, fluid story of elegance infused with intention.
Philanthropy As the Core of Empowerment
While beautiful in its own right, Blythewood’s appearance shone a light on the most important aspect of the evening: philanthropy.
As the founder of the Blythewood Foundation, she is dedicated to working with single mothers in Rwanda in need of safe homes and accessible education for their children, particularly those with disabilities. By furthering educational reform and housing initiatives, the foundation seeks to bring compassion, transformation and empowerment.
Beauty As a Vehicle for Change
Some view beauty as a destination in its own right, but Blythewood believes otherwise. Rather than trying to balance beauty with purpose, she advocates for integrating the two, explaining that “glamour and purpose aren’t opposing forces—they can complement each other.”
Her voice is not reserved for events like the Venice International Film Festival either, firmly taking the stance that intentional causes like the ones she champions can and should be discussed in any space. This approach to philanthropy and advocacy has helped Blythewood remain grounded in an industry where it can be all too easy to be swept up in a flurry of glitter and gossamer.
Continuing Collaborations and a Global Alignment
Beyond her work with the Blythewood Foundation, she has taken to collaborating with like-minded organizations whose goals of advancing education, health, and human dignity closely align with her own.
The Venice International Film Festival provided her a means of making these connections with fellow visionaries and donors, demonstrating how art, fashion, and humanitarianism can coexist as intertwined expressions of empathy and progress.
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