Art & Culture

Ms. Rachel Honors Gaza’s Children at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards

BYMeriem Belhiba

November 5, 2025

At the Glamour Women of the Year 2025 Awards in New York, Children’s educator and YouTube creator Rachel Griffin Accurso, more commonly known as Ms. Rachel, did something quietly powerful. On a night where fashion usually trends for sparkle and spectacle, she arrived in a dress stitched with drawings from children in Gaza.

Instead of wearing a designer gown made for the red carpet, the educator–who has been a vocal advocate for Gaza– chose to upcycle a dress she already owned, adding a light cream organza overlay onto which each illustration was carefully embroidered. The artist’s name, stitched in Arabic beside every drawing, transformed the gown into a wearable archive of the children’s voices.

“I’m carrying their stories in my heart,” she said on the red carpet. “They all know about the dress, and they’re so excited.”

She had their printed portraits with her, tucked carefully inside her bag and as cameras circled, she gently introduced their artwork, as if introducing the children themselves.

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Later on stage, Ms. Rachel made it clear that the dress was not about her, but about the children whose drawings it carried.

“Tonight I am wearing this beautiful dress that has art from kids in Gaza, and these kids are just amazing,” she said. “They’re so thoughtful and so brilliant.”

She then named them — not as a list, but one by one, as if calling the roll of a classroom she refused to let the world forget. She paused on Rama, who contributed one of the drawings but also shared a message for the world after losing both of her sisters.

“I want to end with her words because they’re more important than mine,” Ms. Rachel said. “Rama wanted to say, ‘I want to tell the world my sisters are not numbers. They are moons. They are like the stars — they shine and sparkle.’”

A Closer Look at the Artworks

Luna

Painted a young girl hugging a slice of watermelon, a widely recognized Palestinian symbol of identity, resistance, and love for home.

Shahed

Drew a boat with Palestinian-flag sails, the words “Ride with us” across its side.

Rana

Created a heart-shaped Palestinian flag wrapped in olive branches. She also drew a universe spilling from a bucket, galaxies pouring out like dreams refusing to be contained.

Ahmed

Painted a small boy carrying his house on his back. Displacement rendered in the simplest, most devastating form. His second drawing: a girl in red skates with wings.

Anne

Drew a large dove covered in bright flowers — placed near the center of the dress — signaling the peace children imagine long before adults do.

Sara

Painted a sunset beside a house and shoreline, the sun itself shaped like a watermelon.

Mohammad

Painted two yellow birds perched on a single branch, three tiny hearts in Palestinian colors suspended between them.

Rama

Painted a girl walking alone toward a school flying the Palestinian flag. A hopeful scene — and a haunting one.

Rahaf

Her artwork runs along the hem of the dress: a girl feeding an injured cat from a bowl labeled “Hope.” The cat’s bandage also reads “Hope.” Beside them: a torn book, from which a single flower grows.