http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/iHizmYf9S74/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/UI7Y1-EHxVg/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/6mxEQURs5P4/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/4-RWZh5jKp4/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/v87gmP7Rn8M/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/s1EAhKlaE30/

Think the annual amfAR fundraiser during the Cannes Film Festival is just another swish, celebrity-packed gala? Think again. Last night's biggest star wasn't dressed in a couture gown or a bespoke tuxedo. Rather, it was Damien Hirst's gilded mammoth that had pride of place at the foot of the Hôtel du Cap's manicured grounds—and sold for $15.2 million during the event's live auction.

The artist donated his newest and most significant work in years to amfAR, and its title, Gone but Not Forgotten, dovetailed poignantly with the organization's fight against AIDS. At the beginning of the evening, event chair Harvey Weinstein mentioned that the gala had raised $120 million over twenty years. By the time he returned to the stage nearly four hours later, Cinema Against AIDS 21 had pulled in a record high of $35 million.

And it was the collection of forty-two red outfits from forty-two designers—all selected by Carine Roitfeld and featured once again as an upbeat runway show—that commanded the second-highest bid of $4.8 million. The collection, which represented the designer gamut from A (an Alexander Terekhov sequined gown worn by Karlie Kloss) to V (a tonal pleated kimono dress from Vionnet Couture) and included an unexpected showing from Céline (one of Spring's brushstroke-patterned looks), was swept up by a couple who remained vague about their plans for it.

As it turned out, there were celebrities aplenty, although there may have been even more models. Representing the former contingent: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jessica Chastain, Justin Bieber, John Travolta, and Adrien Brody. Among the latter: Carla Bruni Sarkozy, Milla Jovovich (a longtime chair), Heidi Klum, Eva Herzigova, and Jourdan Dunn.

Guests mingled between tables until the main course was served toward 11 p.m. Returning emcee Sharon Stone spun the late dinner hour as proof of amfAR's success: "This event was once so small that everyone cared. Now it's so big that we're in a room where it's just a party, and that gives me great joy." Arguably the best sighting of the evening came when model Lara Stone (in vintage, studded Gianni Versace) introduced Jane Fonda (in new Atelier Versace) to freshly crowned Eurovision winner and striking drag persona Conchita Wurst. "Now more people follow me, but we are still fighting for tolerance and acceptance," Wurst said of her newfound fame.

When the time came—slightly before midnight—for Hirst's lustrous fossil to find a home, auctioneer Simon de Pury started bidding at 1 million euros. "To my mind, this is the most important single artwork ever donated by any artist to a charitable auction," he explained, hinting that the artist might or might not be present (he was—we spotted Hirst talking to Weinstein before the dinner). "Through a kind of alchemy, whatever you pay for this work, you're going to do an infinity of good for amfAR, for the fight against AIDS. But at the same time, you are going to do the most extraordinary investment. Years from now…you will laugh all the way to the bank for having bought this stunning masterpiece."

A masterpiece, let's not forget, that just so happened to echo last year's fashion show with its gilded designer gowns. Upon suggesting to Roitfeld that she introduced gold to amfAR before Hirst, she shot back with a smile, "He copied me."

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/MdgWfdvGZrM/

When Michelle Obama wore one of his dresses to the 2008 inauguration, a then-26-year-old Jason Wu famously said, "I just didn't think it was my turn yet." At last night's Parsons Fashion Benefit, Wu—now 31, with a namesake business and an artistic directorship at Hugo Boss to boot—took the same humble attitude when he was honored for his achievements. He told us, "It's a little surreal. I feel a little inadequate, like I need to do more. It's a huge honor, though. Especially in this new building—I'm the first one!"

He was talking about Parsons' new University Center, a state-of-the-art building that opened its doors in January on lower Fifth Avenue. A fashion show of the graduating seniors' work was shown in the new auditorium, and dinner was held upstairs in the sixth- and seventh-floor libraries. "This beautiful new building is a beacon for innovation and design," Wu said when accepting his award, fondly remembering the outdated building he studied in on Seventh Avenue. "And now we don't have to share space with those Garment District sample sales. Although I did get some great deals at the time."

Last night's best deal? A singular gift of $250,000 from Hugo Boss. In total, the evening raised more than $1.2 million for scholarships.

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/LSyNl3_nLVw/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/pM4c7J8_J8g/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/jVHG8BxZisk/

The extravaganza that Hermès threw in downtown Manhattan last night was billed as "All About Women"—with a noticeable bias toward those who buy Hermès. Despite the healthy turnout of fashion editors and Frenchmen in suits, the main contingent was favored clients. They had plenty to keep them entertained.

Round one, in the velvet-draped historic J.P. Morgan headquarters at 23 Wall Street, was a rerun of the house's Autumn/Winter collection défilé. For round two, guests descended into an elaborate fashion carnival comprised of dozens of separate installations, including a county-fair area with pinball and roll-a-ball horse racing; "Dancing Bags," a mod-themed act featuring girls in white jumpsuits; a studio (dubbed "Art of the Scarf") with artists sketching a model on a pedestal; and a fortune-teller attempting to divine whether his chosen subjects had glamorous vacation plans or owned an art gallery.

At a swim-themed tableau, retro bathers executed a coolly choreographed routine to sixties luau music. It had Monique Péan intrigued and stylist Kate Schelter climbing up onto a chair for a better view: "I can't keep up!" Most whimsical of all, perhaps, were the passed trays of plain bacon.

What to make of it all? "Hermès is not as serious as some people might think," suggested the house's artistic director of fine jewelry and shoes, Pierre Hardy, as guests filtered back upstairs for a buffet dinner. "Because it's an old brand, from France, it's supposed to be the epitome of classicism. But it's younger and more dynamic than that."

As such off-season theatrics become a thing among big fashion labels, some of the fun is in seeing how each one approaches it differently. "It's not only about power and marketing. It's more about trying to create a little bit of poetry and charm," offered Christophe Lemaire, Hermès' creative director of womenswear. "That's the beauty of this house."

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/UK7FpMwGWEM/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/GXeSBHnnBIU/

"Bring Back the Ball," pronounced the invitation to the Museum of Arts and Design's Young Patrons event, and in a smaller font: "a 1920s Immersion Experience Gala." Hard to resist a pitch like that, and the period-correct James Burden Mansion on East 91st Street, where the party was held last night, was packed. The guests of honor: the time-traveling performance artists David McDermott and Peter McGough, aka the "Dandies of Avenue C," whose MO includes the wearing of coattails, living without electricity, and traveling by horse and buggy.

McDermott and McGough take time-travel immersion seriously. The only authentic period silverware up to their specifications had to be hand-carried on a plane from Los Angeles, along with some 120 individual Limoges porcelain place settings. A Ford Model A was parked outside on the street. Of course, dressing up was half the fun. Sofia Sanchez Barrenechea was nearly unrecognizable in a platinum blond bobbed wig. "You know, I think I really like this," she said, as her fiancé, Alexandre de Betak, gave an unsure eye roll over her shoulder. Taylor Tomasi Hill, wearing a top hat with a shawl she sewed herself from fresh flowers ("Honey, I don't touch a fake flower"), people-watched from the corner with Maggie Betts.

After the beef stroganoff was served and the champagne poured, McGough expressed a subversive side to the evening's 1920s theme. "This party is sensational. And it's all about our time theory. McDermott and I believe that we're all marching off a cliff, especially with climate change. The scientists say that everything will be either desert or flooded, but nobody wants to get rid of their cars, their plastic cups. Time is a trap. Onward, onward, onward." The artist raised his glass and held up a folding fan he was carrying, and sang lyrics from the Jazz Age: "If we only meet your fate, dear, it will be the great event of 1928!"

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/5JbAYZtxE2c/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/BKDEBBDvWEc/

The New York party scene doesn't build itself. One of its primary architects is Ben Pundole, the sprightly Englishman who has helped put together a whole bunch of late-night bashes over the past decade-plus, not to mention a handful of hangouts that people tend to want to throw them in (most notably The Surf Lodge, which launched the Montauk craze). Following stints with the Morgans and King & Grove hospitality brands—the latter of which he cofounded—Pundole has gone more international of late as the branding guru for Ian Schrager's fast-expanding Edition hotel chain.

Pundole can gather a crowd—especially when celebrating his 40th birthday, as was the case Saturday night at Indochine. Dree Hemingway and China Chow were among those who came to raise a glass of Absolut Elyx, the evening's liquor of record.

In black tie and Nikes, Pundole outdressed his guests. He entertained his mother, who'd crossed the pond to join in, and noted that over the past year he's adopted a healthy regimen of yoga, running, and earlier bedtimes—a chapter anyone in his field is pretty much bound to hit at some point.

Still, you only turn 40 once. After clearing out Indochine at 2:30 or so, Pundole headed out to Brooklyn for another round. "I can still do a crazy late night when I put my mind to it," he said.

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/Khr_9_47jkA/

Usually, people clear out of a fashion show as fast as the exits allow, but not at Louis Vuitton's Cruise presentation at Monaco's Place du Palais on Saturday night. While Nicolas Ghesquière adjourned to the Palace to conduct interviews (a rare honor for a non-royal, we were told), guests lingered over champagne and hors d'oeuvres in a clear plastic tent below a sunset that turned the Riviera sky a brilliant shade of pink not far off from the first look on Ghesquière's runway. In the mix: Adèle Exarchopoulos, Pat McGrath, Juergen Teller, Philip Crangi, and Susie Lau. Only the celebrities due at one of the evening's Film Festival parties in Cannes beat hasty retreats. Their helicopters were waiting. Much later, the party moved to Jimmy'z, Monte Carlo's legendary nightclub. We didn't spot her Serene Highness or the Prince, although the latter was rumored to be attending, but Ghesquière was there well past 2 a.m., and, yes, he did take a few turns on the dance floor.

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/vVm2H0wenNE/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/NvNa2N6Phzo/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/ukJN0-kmvF0/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/5KZedcrhPoM/

http://feeds.style.com/~r/fashion_features/~3/fx4ZcZjtbN8/