A change in venue to the Omni Dallas hotel reenergized Saturday night’s House of DIFFA 2014. Or maybe everyone was tingling with excitement because they were trying to guess who was behind the masks that many guests donned in honor of this year’s “Masquerade” theme.
Whatever the reason, the hotel was hopping as DIFFA devotees squeezed into the live auction area in search of cocktails — and a spot to place their bids — prior to the big show. Many of the most beautiful people in Dallas were there — including DIFFA/Dallas chairman of the board Brittanie Buchanan Oleniczak, honorary chair Simona Beal, Gillian Breidenbach, Mary Gill, Brendan Higgins, D’Andra Simmons, Holly and Stubbs Davis, Steve Kemble, Siloam Cardona, and Rey Ortiz — air kissing and hugging and, in some cases, offering a friendly little pinch on the derriere. Oh my.
Once everyone took their seats in the ballroom, the DIFFA board of trustees and Style Council Ambassadors took a turn on the catwalk. Then the show began in earnest, with smoking-hot models sporting the one-of-a-kind jackets from this year’s collection, from designers such as Alton Lane, longtime DIFFA supporter Edo Popken, BCBG Max Azria and Kenneth Cole, just to name a few.
With the crowd fully engaged, the live auction began, featuring packages such as the Edo Popken experience (including airfare and seven nights for four at Popken’s guest house overlooking the Marne Valley in France), dove hunting in Argentina and the 2015 House of DIFFA Runway Experience in which the lucky winner gets to be a model at next year’s fundraiser. The fashion spectacle concluded with a final runway production before attendees scurried out of the ballroom for, yes, an after-party.
The Dallas chapter of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS was formed in 1984 to support the fight against HIV/AIDS by drawing on the contributions of world-renowned creative and corporate leaders representing all branches of the design-related industries. All proceeds from House of DIFFA go toward grants for HIV/AIDS service organizations in North Texas.
D'Andra Simmons
