The Jeffrey Fashion Cares annual
gala was one of the most glamorous and celebrity studded charity affairs that I've ever attended. It took place inside the USS Intrepid ship on Pier 86 in New York City.
The gala was held to
celebrate the 10th anniversary of Jeffrey Fashion Cares, a
phenomenal charity created by Jeffrey Kalinsky,
owner of Jeffrey boutiques, fashion icon and philanthropist. Jeffrey created
JFC with the mission of bringing awareness to the plight of people living with
HIV/AIDS and members of the LGBTQ community.
In 2003 he brought his fashion show and reception benefit to Manhattan and has since raised
over $4 million for LGBT and LGBT youth charities in New York that include
ACRIA, the Hetrick Martin Institute, Lambda Legal and the Point Foundation.
The A-List guest-list included
celebrities like Cyndi
Lauper, Emmy Rossum, Chrissy Teigen and Ireland Baldwin in addition to socialites,
models, designers, executives, bankers, artists, editors and charitable New Yorkers.
The evening aboard the
spectacular Intrepid featured cocktails & hors d'oeuvres, silent auction
and a fashion show.
A grand total of
$811,735 was raised through ticket sales, donations and a live silent auction.
I wore a red THEIA Strapless Sequined Bodice Gown which was originally worn by Kaley Ronayne on the Carrie Diaries. There was absolutely no other dress that could possibly be befitting enough to wear to the Jeffrey Fashion Cares gala. It’s definitely one of the most glamorous, opulent dresses that I've been lucky to wear so far. I loved everything about this gown from the bright red color to the intricate beading on top and beautiful long evolving half-ruffled skirt bottom. It even had a matching red belt to perfectly cinch the waist.
I felt like all eyes were on me when I walked into the room. The stunning red THEIA gown captured everyone’s attention including Celebrity photographer Patrick McMullan. He kindly stopped me for a photo for his renowned website patrickmcmullan.com.
It felt like a dream come true moment to be photographed by such a legend. After taking my photo he asked me if I was an actress to which I proudly responded that I was a Fashion Blogger who was writing about the event.
I had the chance to meet the fabulous Ms.Tia Walker, Publisher of The Quest for “It”. We chatted for a bit and complimented each other’s dresses which were both from THEIA.
I also met Kelly Bensimon who’s known for being one of the reality stars of the hit show Real House Wives of New York City. Kelly wore a gorgeous black leather dress.
One of the drink sponsors of the event was Don Julio, the world's original luxury tequila. They were giving out shots for guests to sample.
Next, I mingled with actress Emmy Rossum, star of the hit show Shameless. She was so sweet and down to earth in person. Ms. Rossum wore a gorgeous beaded gold Naeem Khan dress that gave off a fun 1920’s vibe. In all sense of the word she was the ‘golden’ girl of the night as she hosted the event.
A selection of hors d'oeuvres was passed around the room. I wish I could have tried the seemingly delicious sampling but I was too terrified to eat as I didn't want to accidentally stain my beautiful THEIA gown.
The silent auction featured luxury items from the world’s top designers like Tom Ford, Hermès, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Stella McCartney and many more.
Cyndi Lauper, legendary singer, current star of Broadway’s Kinky Boots and longtime LGBT rights activist posed for a slew of paparazzi when she entered the event.
Naturally, I was excited to meet Cyndi who's one of the biggest icons in the world. I patiently waited for her to finish posing for cameras and doing interviews. When Cyndi noticed that I was waiting to meet her she called me over to come and say hi. The whole moment felt so surreal. I couldn't believe that it was really happening. Cyndi complimented me on my red THEIA gown and asked me who I was. After our mini chat we posed for the photographers.
Later that evening Cyndi was going to present the Jeffrey Fashion Cares’ Community Leadership Award to Jerry Mitchell, the choreographer behind her new Broadway show Kinky Boots. Jerry is a Broadway legend who’s also directed and choreographed shows like Legally Blonde: The Musical and Charlie Brown.
Guests took their seats for the live auction and fashion show. I was so excited to be seated front row to see all of the action firsthand. The live auction started with a Madonna fine art print shot by Richard Corman and hand-painted by renowned graffiti artist Alec Monolopy. Retail value: $10,000
The all gorgeous male model fashion show kicked off with one of my favorite songs, I Love It (I Don't Care) by Icona Pop. It was the perfect rockin’ song to begin such an epic, unforgettable show.
The fashion show starred top male models like Sean O'Pry, Simon Nessman, Parker Gregory, Andre Ziehe and the Stenmark Twins who all wore designs from Givenchy, Lanvin, Dries Van Noten and many more.
The ending highlight of my night happened when I was running to catch a taxi to get back home. In a Cinderella like moment I was tapped on the shoulder as one of the guests from the event stopped to ask me “How did it feel to be one of the most photographed women at the event tonight?”
Thank you so much to THEIA for dressing me in your red gown for the gala and making me one of the most photographed women of the evening. My experience wouldn't have been the same if it wasn't for your beautiful dress.
A big thank you also goes out to the HL Group PR girls who coordinated the guest list for the event and believed in my work enough to invite me to cover it.
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| Grayson Dantzic |
Last but not least the biggest thank you goes to photographer extraordinaire Grayson Dantzic who masterfully captured these epic photos of the Jeffrey Fashion Cares Gala and me.
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