Fashion clicks with a cause
“When the most important issue is a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, I can’t be the only one who sometimes feels like they are living in a parallel universe,” Jessica Lange told the packed tent, prompting at least one guest to suggest “Jessica for president!” With Gray and Sharon Davis nibbling on mixed greens near Arianna Huffington and Lange’s sharp words from the podium, Divine Design’s gala opening on Dec. 2 had the feel of a Democratic fundraiser. Except for the Barker Hangar-sized boutique next door.
No, Divine Design -- now in its 12th year -- is the original holiday shopping bazaar, with all the proceeds from the four-day event supporting Project Angel Food, an organization that provides meals to people living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses.
But before dinner guests could get down to the business of buying discounted Monique Lhuillier bridal gowns, Tickle Me Elmos and C&C; T-shirts, there were awards to give out.
“I’m glad I don’t have to follow him,” fashion designer Nicole Miller joked, referring to Sean “P. Diddy” Combs onstage accepting the Man of Style award for his humanitarian work. “I’m definitely humbled by this,” said Combs, dressed in a gray velvet suit with a pink pocket square, a gobstopper-size diamond stud in his ear. Combs raised $1 million for public schools by running in the New York City Marathon last year and another million for the Children’s Hope Foundation, which helps families touched by AIDS, and his own nonprofit, Daddy’s House Social Programs.
Backstage, Combs admitted he is offered a lot of awards but this one was meaningful. “It comes from an organization that helps people in need. And I’ll never forget it.”
As for politics, the music and fashion mogul said he is proud of the work he did with Citizen Change. Rallying around the slogan “Vote or Die!” he enlisted celebrities such as Mary J. Blige, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck to get out the youth vote and, in the last days of the campaign, chartered a jet to swing states.
“I didn’t endorse either candidate, I endorsed young people,” Combs said. Although he will continue voter outreach, he is not interested in running for office himself. “I like partying too much,” he said. “Besides, I couldn’t deal with all the bull.”
Earlier in the evening, Miller, who works closely with several AIDS and environmental organizations as well as the Red Cross, received the Divine Designer award. In business since 1982, she rocked the fashion world in the early 1990s when she was one of the first to put celebrities on the runway instead of models. She accepted a crystal-encrusted angel statuette after presenting a fashion show of her younger, edgier Millergirl line. The wispy frocks were a hit and so were the funky cowboy boots, designed by Miller’s former assistant, Nevena Christi, who now co-owns the El Paso, Texas-based boot company Rocketbuster.
Woman of Style honoree Lange, who has participated in a range of philanthropic causes, most recently as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, capped off the formal part of the evening by talking about the increasing feminization of AIDS. The Oscar-winning actress began working with AIDS charities 15 years ago at Gay Men’s Health Crisis in New York when, she said, “No one could have imagined the devastation that was to come.” She dedicated her award to everyone in the Project Angel Food organization because, she said, “The gift of food is an essential gesture of love.”
