Kings of Cole First Annual Kings of Cause Charity Cocktail Event

Luxury loungewear line Kings of Cole launched their first annual Kings of Cause Charity Cocktail Event in honor of October being National Anti-Bully month. The event was held in Soho at The Institute, Erno Laszlo and was hosted by Elana Brynes, designer and owner of Kings of Cole and Sean James, former NFL athlete and founder of Be In The Know About Bullying foundation.

Notable attendees included Tracy Anderson, Chris Wragge, Luis Da Silva Jr. (from films including: 21 Jump Street, Fast Five, The Heat and Gone Girl), Former and Current NFL players: Derek Faulkner and Brendan Ayanbadejo to name a few. In addition, influencers from fashion, sports and beauty communities also came out to support and raise funds for this remarkable charity.

Be In The Know About Bullying provides support services to youth and families affected by bullying, violence, and suicide through preventative education and communication. The charity embraces all segments of the community of all race and ethnic backgrounds, social levels, sexual orientations and gender identities. Be In The Know not only gives direct services to families and communities affected by bullying, teen suicide and school violence, but also provide programming to educational institutions through its staff, speakers and curriculum.  

Check out www.knowaboutbullying.com to learn more and donate.

 

My friend Hiromi came out with me that evening. Coordinated in black and white we worked the red carpet outside of the event. We didn’t actually plan to match but then fashion fate happened. ;) Thanks Guest of a Guest for snapping this fabulous picture of us! 

I've had so much going on this past month that I haven't really been out as much. Walking into the Kings of Cole cocktail party reminded me of how much I truly enjoy being a part of the New York social scene. Events like these bring out the most fascinating people and you never know who you will meet. 

Kings of Cole designer, Elana Brynes designed an exclusive collection for the night. Hoodies, sweatpants and tops were embellished with their classic, crystal BYE-HATER hand, which was sold on location with 50% of proceeds benefiting the Be In The Know About Bullying foundation. 

In between mingling I sampled yummy mini cupcakes from SPOTS NYC. 

The foodie in me was further thrilled to see huge platters of cheese and fruit. 

Altaneve provided their elegant sparkling prosecco which by far is my favorite drink. Nothing makes me more happier than a glass of amazing prosecco and a plate of cheese. 

After perusing Altaneve's website I found the following fascinating history of prosecco. 

In an ancient land of Emperors, philosophers and artists, there was a noble wine called Pucino.

Created in the foothills of the Italian Alps over 2000 years ago, Pucino was a favorite of Empress Livia Augusta. In the following centuries, Pucino was renamed “Prosecco”, and it has been enjoyed by Italian royalty and nobility ever since.

Brendan Ayanbadejo Super Bowl champion of the Baltimore Ravens shared a heartfelt speech and clip from his upcoming documentary about the fight for equal rights within the LGBT community. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Brendan Ayanbadejo right after he finished doing press interviews. He was so nice in person and the experience was truly the best possible ending to an already phenomenal evening. 

It was great to come out to support such a great cause for Anti-Bullying. Growing up I've also faced my share of being horribly bullied and to now have an opportunity to shed light on this issue really means a lot. 

Thank you to my PR friend Jana and her namesake PR firm (Jana Public Relations) for inviting me to such a lovely and fabulously executed evening!