Many people in the West African country of Ghana struggle to have even their basic needs met. Low life expectancy and staggering infant mortality rates are the norm, and in 2007, UNICEF reported that the nation held more than 1 million orphans– most of whom were small children who lost their parents to HIV/AIDS.

But help is on the way! Margherita Missoni, heiress to the Missoni fashion house, has teamed with California-based non-profit OrphanAid Africa to create a capsule collection to benefit Ghana’s orphans. As president of OrphanAid Africa Italia, Margherita has a solid history of devoting herself to helping the poorest of the poor.

The Valentino Fashion Group will produce the 12-piece capsule collection under M Missoni, the design house’s lower-priced line. Fans of pink and red hues will be pleased to note that the collection heavily relies on combinations of these two shades.

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“The choice of colors was instinctive; it was the combination that I liked the most,” Margherita explained to Women’s Wear Daily. “Pink is symbolic, it refers to childhood, and red to Africa, and together they were aesthetically pleasing. The pattern in itself is something that is ours, that belongs to us.”

Though lucky ladies in Milan can scoop up a piece (or two) on November 10, 2011, New Yorkers will have to wait until the collection’s Big Apple debut on November 15. Don’t live near Milan or Manhattan? Never fear- the pieces will hit Yoox.com just a day after their NYC release.

And since the item bearing the heftiest price tag is a $163 raincoat, we expect to check a few fashion forward gals off our holiday lists when the line is released. Just remember: if you drop a paycheck to revamp your wardrobe, a hunk of that cash will be going to a great cause. It doesn’t get much better than that!

Diana Denza is a regular contributor to BettyConfidential.

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