Kerry Washington has invested in jewellery brand Aurate and designed a capsule collection.
Kerry Washington
The 43-year-old actress has a stake in the New York-based brand started by Bouchra Ezzahraoui and Sophie Kahn, and is donating 20 per cent of the profits from her four-piece collection to the non-profit women's activism society, Supermajority.
Kerry says the Lioness Collection - which boasts a chain necklace, bracelet, earrings, and Lion Coin Pendant - was created with idea of "democratising fine jewellery” in mind.
She said: "When I met Sophie and Bouchra, I was so impressed with them as women and as badass entrepreneurs and founders.
"I was so impressed with the product. It really spoke to me, this idea of democratising fine jewellery by cutting out the middleman and allowing more people to have access to beautiful jewellery. I wanted to be a part of this journey."
The 'American Son' star used the lioness as a symbol of the inspiring women in her life.
She explained to PEOPLE: "Developing the collection really got me thinking about what a lioness pride is all about. In the lioness pride, there ain't no hierarchy. All of the female lions, take care of each other. They hunt together, but they also nurture their cubs together. They're so feared, but they're so loving.
"It just reminds me of a lot of the women in my lioness tribe that I love so much. In the advocacy space, the founders of [the non-profit organisation] Supermajority are some of those women, Alicia Garza and Ai-jen Poo and Cecile Richards, these are women who really inspire me. They are creating the larger lioness pride for women in the advocacy space."
Kerry chose Aurate because they are a "brand by women, for women" and she explained that she wanted to go into the jewellery business because it's the most "heart-centred" area of fashion.
She added: "I like working in an element of fashion that feels more filled with our heart-centred connections with each other. And it's why it was so important to me that the collection had embodied themes that were really important to women. This is really a brand that's by women, for women. And so, I wanted to something that really felt inspiring, uplifting and provocative."
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