From the front rows of Europe’s most coveted fashion shows to the heart of Miami’s creative and philanthropic scene, Caitlin Collins is redefining what modern advocacy can look like. A writer, style presence, and lupus advocate, Collins is using fashion as both armor and amplifier—transforming personal experience into collective impact. With the launch of Lupus Style Society, she’s creating space where luxury, creativity, and compassion coexist. Collins opens up to Spotlight about visibility, illness, identity, and why advocacy doesn’t have to look one way to be powerful.
Spotlight Magazine: You’ve become a standout presence at global shows, yet your most meaningful work is happening in Miami. How do you bridge the worlds of luxury fashion and community-driven advocacy?
Caitlin Collins: Traveling to the shows in Europe is incredible and such an honor. I love seeing designers in their element, surrounded by friends—the beauty, the craftsmanship, the power of storytelling. It’s endlessly inspiring. But the best part is coming back and letting that inspiration fuel me here in Miami.
No matter where I am, though, I live with lupus every day. It’s a disease you can’t always see, and that’s taught me how important self-expression truly is. A lot of days, my body feels different than it looks, but fashion is one way I communicate strength, identity, and emotion.
Bridging luxury fashion and advocacy means helping people see that style isn’t just aesthetic—it can be a tool for connection, empathy, and impact. Luxury and advocacy should inform and elevate each other.
Spotlight Magazine: Lupus Style Society is such a unique concept. What inspired you to turn fashion events into a platform for lupus research and awareness?
Caitlin Collins: Lupus Style Society is still evolving, but it’s truly my passion project. It came from a very personal realization. When I was first diagnosed, I struggled deeply—not just with pain, but with feeling disempowered and alone. Lupus is often invisible, and that can make you feel like you don’t have the right to take up space.
I never expected fashion to save me, but in many ways, it did. Fashion helped me reclaim visibility, identity, and joy.
If you’ve seen me at shows, you’ve seen me in sunglasses. In fashion, they’re part of the look. Outside of it, they can be misunderstood. But light sensitivity is a common lupus symptom, and sunglasses help me manage that while still feeling confident. In fashion spaces, that part of my life was normalized. I didn’t have to hide.
That sense of acceptance is what I want to give others. Being sick with an autoimmune disease can be profoundly isolating. Lupus Style Society is meant to be warm, inviting, and inclusive—not just for those living with lupus, but for creatives, designers, artists, and philanthropists who want to help.
Advocacy doesn’t have to be clinical or somber. It can be glamorous, celebratory, and creative. By merging the fashion world I love with the mission that matters most to me, we’re building something that supports research while reminding people that life with lupus can still be full of brilliance.
Spotlight Magazine: Your inaugural event at Balmain set the tone beautifully. What moment made you think, This is exactly why I’m doing this?
Caitlin Collins: It was realizing I had all these people in one room who genuinely cared—not just about me, but about lupus, and about learning how they could help others who are suffering quietly.
Seeing friends and members of the fashion community show up out of real curiosity and support was incredibly uniting. People were asking questions, connecting, and wanting to give back. That’s what I want—to create spaces where people feel informed, connected, and part of something bigger than illness.
I’m so excited to build on that momentum. In January, we’ll be hosting an event at Pucci, who generously offered to donate 10% of all event sales to the Lupus Foundation of America.
Spotlight Magazine: You’re also a writer, sharing your experience with lupus and growing up in the public eye. What part of your journey feels most important to share right now?
Caitlin Collins: For a long time, I tried to be the polished version of myself that I thought people expected, even while struggling privately. Writing—like fashion—has become a way to reclaim my narrative.
I’ve published essays and completed a manuscript draft, but I also know my story isn’t finished yet. Healing isn’t linear—physically, emotionally, or personally. Lupus awareness still has a long way to go, and writing is another way I can help bridge that gap.
People can’t care about stories they don’t know or understand. My hope is that by being open, I can help people connect and see the human side of this illness. Vulnerability and strength can coexist. You can be fighting something invisible and still build a beautiful, meaningful life.
Spotlight Magazine: With the holiday season centered on giving back, what’s one meaningful way readers can support lupus research or get involved with Lupus Style Society?
Caitlin Collins: One of the most meaningful things you can do is simply show up. Donate if you’re able. Attend events. Listen to and share people’s stories. Awareness starts with attention.
Even following and engaging with people living with chronic illness online matters more than people realize. Read what they share. Learn from their experiences. These small acts help close the empathy gap so many of us face.
Advocacy grows through participation. Every person who shows up pushes the conversation—and the research—forward. Increased visibility is how real change happens.
To follow my journey and learn more about upcoming Lupus Style Society events, you can visit my website and follow along on Instagram.
