On Saturday night, Destination Fashion hit the Shops of Bal Harbour, with an over-the-top party two years in the making. Barton G. transformed the luxury mall into a celebration through the ages: 70s, 80s, 90s and today, with enormous displays representing each decade. Over 2, 000 fashion-forward VIPs including celebrities, sports stars and philanthropic icons were able to get their groove on at Studio 54, munch on sushi with the Star Wars characters, sip cosmos with the girls from Sex and the City, and ponder the fabulosity of it all with the cast from Dynasty. The evening began with a call to action from award- winning actor and event co-chair, Tommy Lee Jones and superstar, Gloria Estefan, followed by testimonials by Nick Buoniconti and son, Marc. Next, Sultan of Style, Project Runway star, Michael Kors, wowed the crowd by presenting his spectacular fall collection straight from the runways of New York Fashion Week. The jaw dropping, bank-breaking, college fund-depleting show was set to a high-energy soundtrack which included Coldplay and New Order. Overheard among the crowd, approximately every fifteen seconds, “Gasp, I’m buying that!” After a lavish dinner at Neiman Marcus, the Pointer Sisters took over, performing a concert of their greatest hits, including He’s So Shy, Fire, Slow Hand, Automatic, Jump and, of course, I’m So Excited. There was barely any time to relish in the carbolicious rapture that was set up across the mall at Saks, where Willy Wonka challenged you to try one of the hundreds of dessert creations which covered every inch of every cosmetic counter before the Seal concert. Seal’s supermodel spouse, Heidi Klum was a no-show, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind, as Seal performed over 10 songs including Kiss from a Rose, Crazy and Prayer for the Dying. Famous faces at the bash included: Tommy Lee Jones, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Michael Kors, Anna Kournikova, Jerry Rice, Jack Nicklaus, Scottie Pippen, Pat Riley, Don Shula, Romero Britto, Edgerrin James, Clay Adler, Seamus Dever, Asante Samuel, Nat Moore, Carl Lewis, Tim Hardaway, Helio Castroneves, Robin Quivers, Nanette Lepore and Ed Reed among others. By all accounts, Destination Fashion was a huge success, raising over 3.8 million dollars for the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. To see the feature on Extra, go to: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/03/miami_sizzles_on_the_runway.php.
This article was originally published in the Miami SunPost on March 12, 2009.
