New screening series aims to connect stars, studios and charities

One of the many luxe features of the Edition hotel that opened in West Hollywood last month is a 90-seat state-of-the-art screening room, an amenity quickly brought to the attention of Southern California’s fashion and entertainment heavyweights at a star-studded Nov. 15 dinner hosted by Gia Coppola, Demi Moore, Natasha Lyonne and Elvis Mitchell that saw Jeremy Scott, Amanda de Cadenet and David Furnish rubbing elbows with the likes of Alex Israel, Scott Sternberg, Jacqui Getty and Rick Owens (the last of these all the more impressive given that Owens hadn’t been back to the city where he launched his career in 16 years).

The dinner was to celebrate a screening series partnership between the hotel and RAD (short for Red Carpet Advocacy), a philanthropy launched earlier this year that acts as a kind of matchmaker between brands, entertainment industry talent and charitable causes, leveraging the first two to raise awareness — and fill the coffers — of the latter.

The buzzy dinner — like the screening series it was organized to promote — was exactly the kind of win-win co-founders costume designer Arianne Phillips and luxury brand consultant Carineh Martin had in mind when they officially launched their endeavor at the Golden Globes in January.

For that awards show, RAD worked with actress Elisabeth Moss and stylist Karla Welch to lock in donations to the American Civil Liberties Union from each of the brands Moss wore on the red carpet.

Since then, RAD has connected singer Camila Cabello with Armani Prive for a Grammys red carpet turn that raised funds — and awareness — for Save the Children, paired Levi Strauss with “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” actress Margot Robbie (Phillips was that film’s costume designer) for a Los Angeles dinner that benefited Australian charity Youngcare; connected Olivia Wilde and Oscar de la Renta for the New York premiere of Wilde’s “A Vigilante” in support of Henry Street Settlement; and partnered with Annapurna Pictures for a screening of “If Beale Street Could Talk,” with host Tracee Ellis Ross and Gucci donating to the Me Too Movement and Essie Justice Group.

At this year’s 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, thanks to the efforts of Phillips, Martin and a battalion of celebrity stylists, St. Jude pins accessorized many a red carpet look in a bid to raise awareness about childhood cancer. Although they haven’t said exactly how much their matchmaking efforts have raised since launching, they described it generally as in the seven figures, between public and private donations.

The win-win-win formula of the “Beale Street” screening is similar to what RAD’s partnership with the Edition hotel will look like, said Phillips, who has dubbed the project “a screening series with a purpose.” She described it working this way: A film studio supplies a movie for screening and related talent (directors, actors, writers and the like), and RAD, the studio and a sponsoring brand will choose a celebrity host.

The brand makes a $20,000 donation directly to a charitable cause that fits with the theme of the film and on behalf of the host. The guest list for the invite-only screening at the hotel at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive will be a mix of influencers and tastemakers, film industry insiders (including the folks whose votes matter when it comes to handing out awards) and news media.

The RAD X Edition screening series is set to get underway in January, a time of year traditionally thick with for-your-consideration campaigns. Although no specific studio-film-charity pairings have been announced yet, Martin and Phillips said they have commitments “from numerous studios and streaming services.”

Additional information on RAD’s efforts to connect content with cause can be found at the organization’s website, wearerad.org.