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P.E Nation founder Pip Edwards, ‘Today Extra’ co-host Sylvia Jeffreys and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Julie Bishop, all attend the 15th-anniversary luncheon of the Witchery white shirt campaign. Image via Witchery.

A white shirt—whether it be a boxy boyfriend style or a crisp button-down—is a perennial staple in any woman’s wardrobe. A sartorial mainstay that reflects our power, capability and force.

But for 15 years now, Australian retailer Witchery has been partnering with Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) to release a white shirt which means even more. One whose profits go directly to research for an early detection test for ovarian cancer.

A disease with an unprecedentedly high mortality rate, ovarian cancer has no symptoms and no cure. In 2022, around 1,815 Australian women are estimated to have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer (the equivalent of five women per day). Only 49% (889) will still be alive in five years time.

Grossly underfunded by our government, it is a bittersweet moment to be celebrating this 15-year partnership.

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Pip Edwards and Julie Bishop. Image via Witchery.

On one hand, it means that we’ve not yet reached a point in which a life-saving early detection test has been developed. But, it’s also a stark reminder of the power of community, with over $15 million raised since the start of Witchery and OCRF’s #WhiteShirtCampaign.

For this year’s annual White Shirt luncheon, Witchery tapped style savants, political activists and luminaries who have dedicated their life to championing and uplifting female voices to gather for a panel at Sydney’s exclusive Bennelong restaurant, set inside the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

Inside the cathedral-esque restaurant, the magnificent concrete vaulted ceilings and glass façade played hosts to the likes of former Minster of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Julie Bishop, 2021 Australian Of The Year, Grace Tame, and this year’s white shirt co-designer, Pip Edwards.

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Inside the 15th anniversary luncheon. Image via Witchery.

The resounding message gleaned from the lunch was not one of hope, but one of determinable action.

As OCRF CEO Robyn Penty exclaimed: “This shirt has the power to change lives.”

“It’s a field that is structurally underfunded and where gender inequity persists,” Penty notes, before leaving us inspired for the next 15 years of innovative Ovarian research.

“We’re shifting the dial on this insidious disease, and making sure the place where all human life begins is no longer a place where women’s lives end.”

If you can, purchase a white shirt from Witchery below, and together, let’s keep more women alive.

Witchery-White-ShirtWitchery OCRF White Shirt, $149.95. SHOP HERE