Camilla & Marc has long existed at the unlikely intersection of fashion and women’s health. And today, the brand’s founders, Marc Freeman and Camilla Freeman-Topper, launch their fifth annual Ovaries. Talk About Them. campaign, to raise much-needed funding and awareness for ovarian cancer research.
The stakes could not be higher. Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal cancers, and it’s also one of the least researched and understood. It is rarely detected until it’s advanced, with poor outcomes and limited treatment options. By 2050, new diagnoses are projected to rise more than 55 per cent, and annual deaths by a staggering 70 per cent, reaching nearly 445,000 globally.
But according to Camilla & Marc, there is hope. “We are incredibly optimistic that the wonderfully capable team is on track to take the first early detection test to clinical trial by 2026,” says Freeman-Topper. “Now, we need everyone to show up like never before, for our mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends. If we get this across the line, we could change the future of women’s health globally.”
The annual campaign is personal for Freeman-Topper and Freeman, who lost their mother to the disease. “This campaign started as a personal mission — to fund a test that didn’t exist,” says Freeman. “Through the incredible commitment of our community, this dream is now within reach. We set a bold goal but this campaign is an incredible example of what we can achieve when purpose drives business.”
The annual campaign includes limited-edition t-shirts, caps, and tote bags from which 100 per cent of proceeds go directly to Professor Caroline Ford’s UNSW Gynaecological Cancer Research Group, to push for the development of the world’s first DNA-based early detection blood test for ovarian cancer.
Since launching in 2019, the partnership has returned tangible results. To date, it has raised over $2.5 million in medical research funding, and in 2024, it was announced that Ford and her all-female research group had discovered three DNA biomarkers that can detect all major types of ovarian cancer. The goal is to use this research to develop a blood test that will detect ovarian cancer in the critical early stages, before it can spread and while it can still be removed as a means of curing the disease.
“We are now on the home stretch and are confident in our selection of ovarian cancer biomarkers and are working hard to combine them in the best way to ensure that our test is as specific and as sensitive as possible,” says Ford. “We are optimistic that at the end of this process (multiplexing) that we will have a test that is both sensitive in specifically detecting tiny amounts of tumour DNA.”
This year’s campaign is fronted by Bianca Balti, an Italian supermodel who was diagnosed with stage III C ovarian cancer in 2024 after previously discovering she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation. The mutation gave her a 50 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and 30 per cent chance of ovarian cancer, which prompted the model to undergo a preventative double mastectomy in 2022.
Now in recovery, Balti stands with Camilla & Marc to spotlight the urgent need for early detection and funding. “Finding out I had the BRCA1 gene was a real wake-up call. I decided to remove my breasts first and planned to remove my ovaries too. I always knew I wanted more kids, and I was afraid to feel lesser of a woman without my ovaries… however, ovarian cancer found me before I could remove them,” Balti said. “I hope that if we have an early detection test, women won’t have to get all the way to where I was. They’ll catch it sooner. They’ll have options.”
Along with Balti, other public figures are lending their image to the campaign. Selena Yang, Ali Bird and their partner Ashley Tick, and Brodie Townsend, are all pictured in the campaign wearing unisex t-shirts featuring slogans like ‘How much are your ovaries worth?’ and ‘There is no you without me’.
In a world where the deadliest female cancer still lacks an early detection screening test, Ovaries. Talk About Them. is fighting for change. To support the campaign’s mission, you can buy a piece of the limited edition collection below and on the Camilla & Marc website.
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Tee
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Tee
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Tee
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Tee
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Crew
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Cap
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Technical Hooded Parka
CAMILLA AND MARC
It All Begins With Ovaries Crew
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