Jeffery Fashion Cares 2016 Gala Fashion Show and Auction
The 24th annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares gave Atlanta’s fashion patrons a look at fall collections from designers such as Saint Laurent Paris, Balenciaga, Brandon Maxwell, Vetements, Manolo Blahnik, Gucci, Lanvin and Celine, while raising thousands of dollars and awareness for the Atlanta AIDS Fund and Susan B. Komen Greater Atlanta.
Held for the second year in a row at the upscale Phipps Plaza in a white curtained-off space not far from the Jeffrey Atlanta boutique, the sold-out event sought to raise as much or more charity dollars as last year, which was $700,000. Guests including included Rigby & Peller chief executive officer Ginny Gerard and Sarah-Elizabeth Reed, wife of Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, socialized before moving to their seats. An auction for trips and jewelry raised $71,000, not counting donations ranging from $100 to $5,000 sought afterward. A weeklong trip to the South African Thulani Game reserve ended up going to two competing bidders for $15,000 each.
Jeffrey Kalinsky, who started the event in 1992, tried to pass on as much of the money as possible to the charities without putting it into the reception or fashion show. Phipps Plaza, he said, donated $50,000 to them, and the food and open bar were donated. Most of the fashion comes from his stores.
Event chairs Lila Hertz, Louise Sams and Jeffrey McQuithy mixed with guests before joining Kalinsky onstage to welcome everyone and encourage donations. The fashion show included cashmere, leather, glossy brocades and liquid silks with fall colors based on a monochromatic palette with color blocks, and colors focused on lemon yellow, royal blue and shades of red. Other trends were a street style, highlighted by designers Vetements and Marques’ Almeida, with key elements of oversizing seen in parkas, bomber jackets, furs and shearlings.
Brands Kalinsky added this year included Marques’ Almeida and Brandon Maxwell, who has been styling Lady Gaga. He is most impressed with Maxwell. “His looks are among my favorites in the show tonight,” Kalinsky said. “He had his first show in New York a year ago, and I said, ‘This is the real deal.’”
Next year, Jeffrey Fashion Cares celebrates another milestone — the 25th anniversary. Kalinsky has, of course, been focusing on year 24, but said he’d like to make the reception bigger and more important next year. Recalling 2012, when the charity event celebrated its 20th year and surprised everyone with a flash-mob dance, Kalinsky said he’d love another “fabulous flash mob.”
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Stonewall 2020 Gala – Looking Back Moving Forward
The 7th Annual Stonewall National Museum & Archives Gala will be held on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at the fabulous Conrad Hotel hailed as the new five-star beacon of luxury on Fort Lauderdale Beach. The Gala, co-chaired by Yvonne Rohrbacher and Julio Rodriguez will offer guests an exciting evening celebrating the history and culture of the LGBTQ+ community including open bar, 3-course gourmet dinner, live auction with celebrity Emcee and Auctioneer Neil Saffer, silent auctions, and entertainment by Miss Coco Peru. [...]
