Last night The Plaza Hotel lit up New York with an array of dazzling gowns, flashing cameras, and of course plenty of big stars for the fifth annual amfAR Inspiration Gala. The evening, produced by Josh Wood, was a celebration of men’s style to benefit the AIDS Foundation research programs. Wood decided upon a print theme for this year’s gala, because of the many prints that have taken over the menswear runways recently. He also added: “We wanted to do something where the guests could wear the theme too!” This year, the gala’s runway show included over 50 looks with custom designs from the likes of Calvin Klein and Alexander Wang. As for the hardest part of his producing gig? “When the evening starts, because I have to balance everything out. But, the sound check is my favorite part of the whole event. I got to see New Order perform.” The charity gala attracted a long list of designers, celebrities and fashion icons, who all came out to show their support, including; Sarah Jessica Parker, Josh Duhamel, Fergie, Matt Bomer, Alex Lundqvist, Elsa Hosk, Franca Sozzani, Zachary Quinto, Zac Posen, Kenneth Cole, amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost, André Leon Talley, and Hamish Bowles, just to name a few.
Per usual, the evening kicked off with a classic cocktail hour where guests sipped on champagne and nibbled on gourmet apps. Once the drinks were drained and the food disappeared, the next stop for the star-studded crowd was the annual menswear fashion show, followed by the award ceremony, which honored Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, HBO’s Michael Lombardo and Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli. Costa, who was presented his award by Fergie, was beyond excited to be honored for the eve. As for what he finds inspiration in, he mused: “It’s life! To not have boredom and always move forward, without looking back, is such an inspiration.” And his favorite part of getting dressed for a gala? “Putting my underwear on,” Costa joked. While Zucchelli preferred to keep his gala wear casual: “It’s always a bit of a treat to wear a nice jacket, but I also always like to wear jeans, so that I feel like myself!” To cap off the philanthropic evening, attendees also enjoyed a delicious sit-down dinner, and live auction followed by a special performance by New Order. All in all, this evening was full of do-gooders accented with chintz and glamour!