By Jennifer Morton (Managing Editor, POZ)

The red ribbon was created in the spring of 1991 by a small group of artists in New York City called the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus. They wanted to design a symbol to show compassion for people living with the virus. Twenty years later it has become the universal icon of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

On June 2, the red ribbon made its debut at the 45th Tony Awards. The first celebrity to be seen wearing the ribbon was cohost Jeremy Irons. Visual AIDS partnered with Broadway Cares and Equity Fights AIDS and passed out the ribbons to guests and presenters as a way of showing how the epidemic was affecting their industry. Soon the red ribbon became the fashion accessory of the red carpet.

On the anniversary of the first time the ribbon was worn, we scoured Flickr to see just how and where the red ribbon is being used today. Check out our favorites in the slideshow below:



Click here for a clip of Jeremy Irons wearing the ribbon at the 45th Annual Tony Awards.