Happy Haute New Year

Luxury yachts make waves in St. Barts as Texas high rollers like Jerry Jonesring in the New Year

Business mogul Ron Perelman's super yacht C2 is among the 200-foot and largerbeauties anchoring at St. Barts.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
Gustavia Harbor, St. Barts, is where you'll find a cast of super stars andsuper-yachts for New Year's.
Wikipedia
Sight-seeing along the Gustavia harbor is a rich diversion.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
The 190-foot Lady Sheridan is among the super-yachts anchored at St. Barts forthe holidays.
Northrop & Johnson
The super yachts lined up like lavish ducks in a row in the harbor at Gustavia,St. Barts' capital.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
Roman Abramovich's 538-foot Eclipse, currently anchored at St. Barts, isconsidered the largest private yacht in the world.
Photo by DCwom/Wikipedia
Hundreds of sailboats pack the St. Barts waters during the holidays.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
Gustavia is the social center of St. Barts winter fun.
Photo by Shelby Hodge
Paul Allen's 271-foot Tatoosh is another of the super-yachts decorating St.Barts waters.
Photo by Oxam Hartog/Wikipedia

The countdown to 2013 began in St. Barts several days ago, when the gilded swans of the sea began gliding in, anchoring in the azure waters of Gustavia Bay.

On the eve of New Year's Eve, the local yacht registry recorded 130 vessels, 17 of those in the super-yacht category (measuring 200 feet or more in length). And a handful of Texans were floating along with the best of them.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones anchored in aboard the 290-foot Nirvana (for sale for $300 million and change), his arrival later than most due to the Sunday night Cowboys game against the Redskins. The tariff for a week on that floating behemoth will set you back a cool 1 million euro.

Jerry Jones anchored in aboard the 290-foot Nirvana (for sale for $300 million and change), his arrival later than most due to the Sunday night Cowboys game against the Redskins.

Anchored in the midst of this luxury flotilla was the Lady Sheridan, the swank, 190-foot yacht belonging to Sheridan and John Eddie Williams, Texas tobacco attorney. Plains Exploration CEO Jim Flores, wife Cherieand their children spent the holiday aboard one of the sleek charters, while Dallas automobile mogul Ken Schnitzer, his family and a few Texas friends sailed in on another.

The show dog in this exclusive fraternity of the super rich was Eclipse, the 538-foot monster owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. The world's largest private yacht and its owner were the focus of the paparazzi who invaded for the holidays, hoping to capture his image as well as that of other stars that dropped in for his legendary New Year's Eve bash.

In recent years, Abramovich has brought in entertainment, including Beyoncé and Jay Z, Gwen Stefani, Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas. This year, the Kings of Leon were in St. Barts to headline the energy czar's party, considered the hottest New Year's Eve ticket on the planet. Only 400 of the super celebs, trust fund babies and business moguls anchoring across St. Barts were invited, and security was tight, tight, tight.

Nothing was too extravagant for this crowd. One yacht owner had the chef from Nirvana bring in fresh truffles from Europe. On the Maltese Falcon, a 289-foot sailing yacht, a lower sail was raised Sunday night for a giant-sized airing of the Cowboys game, giving the appearance of a drive-in movie.

While their captains kept a lid on who chartered which boat, you can bet that there were superstars bunking in the super-yachts. Among the 17 biggies at anchor were Tatoosh, Microsoft mogul Paul Allen's 271-foot playpen; the 313-foot Limitless, owned by The Limited founder Leslie Wexler; and business magnate Ron Perelman's 261-foot C2.

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Welcome to the Dreamstate

Dreamy DIFFA Dallas gala invites glammed-up guests into surreal soiree

Photo by Kelly Alexander

Gabriella Monte

We're always in favor of a gala where you can turn up wearing pajamas, but when that gala is House of DIFFA, those PJs had better be glam.

The 2025 theme combined the eerie with the ethereal: Dreamstate, which DIFFA describes as "a surreal realm where the power of dreams fuels transformation and fantasy gives way to fearless impact."

And this year's guests were definitely not sleeping. Along with silky, slinky, sequined pajama sets and even a bit of racy lingerie, attendees at this avant-garde fashion extravaganza interpreted the theme in myriad ways: fairy wings, lacy masks, crowns, and plenty of ballgowns, rhinestone tuxedos, and high heels (on all genders) tall enough to rival skyscrapers.

Chaired by Payton Martin and Jacob Samson and sponsored by the Louis L. Borick Foundation, the May 3 evening began with a private VIP cocktail hour. Then the masses could descend on the Sheraton Dallas Hotel for a vibrant two hours of sipping specialty drinks, posing for photographers, and bidding on both the silent auction items and legendary jacket collection.

DIFFA 2025 Midsummer night scene in the runway show.Photo by Thomas Garza

These custom, one-of-a-kind jackets were all created exclusively for DIFFA Dallas, and included pieces from both local and global designers. The extensive silent auction offered everything from luxury fashion and jewelry to artwork, spa services, furniture, decor, and exclusive dining and travel experiences, with all proceeds benefiting HIV/AIDS service organizations across North Texas.

This year's beneficiaries include:

AIDS Interfaith Network
AIDS Outreach Center
AIDS Services of Dallas
AIDS Walk South Dallas
CAN Community Health
Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ
Children's Medical Center ARMS Clinic
Cook Children's Health Foundation
Dallas Hope Charities
East Texas Cares Resource Center
Elevate North Texas
Greg Dollgener Memorial AIDS Fund
Health Services of North Texas
HELP Center for LGBT Health and Wellness
Legacy Cares
Legal Hospice of Texas
Open Arms, Inc. - Bryan's House
Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas
Prism Health North Texas
Resource Center of Dallas
A Sister's Gift
Sonya's House
Tarrant County Samaritan Housing
White Rock Friends

A special display also showed off outfits and headgear worn by such stars as Madonna, Shania Twain, Chappel Roan, and Zoe Saldaña in music videos, photo shoots, and on the red carpet.

When the doors of the Lone Star Ballroom were thrown open, guests quickly sought their seats so that the program and three-course dinner could commence.

Following remarks from the co-chairs and DIFFA Dallas board chair Ken Weber, the lady herself presented the Donna Fishel Community Hero Award to Todd Bacon, pastor of White Rock Community Church and community liaison for White Rock Friends.

For the last 30 years, White Rock Friends has been committed to the health and well-being of its community, providing hot meals on weekends (one of the first and only in DFW) and running a "general store" that supplies personal care and household cleaning products to those in need.

Then the DIFFA board of trustees got their moment in the spotlight, with waves of applause for Jacob Samson, Brandon Bell, Rick Castillo, Jonathan Flores, Steve Lopez, Paige Westhoff, Richard Rivas, David Chadd, Jainy Selvakumar, Danny Acevedo, Rhiannon Bolen, Christi Meril, J.R. Shoman, JR Hernandez, and Eric Bright.

Strutting the runway next were the 2025 DIFFA Dallas Style Council Ambassadors: Ashley Anderson Smith, Sonya Morfor, Bill Moore, Korey Williams, Shelle Carrig, Amy Baumann, Lisa Endicott, Clayton Nabors, Chad Collom, Deborah Bowles, Sonia Simmons, Sierre Tuthill, Kelly Wolfenberger, Kelli Seliger, Danny Cabrera, Steven Hoyl, and Abbe Fenimore.

DIFFA 2025 Booker T. Washington Senior Modeling Luxury Jacket Photo by Danny Campbell

To introduce the recipient of the Candy Long Excellence in Fashion Award, Erykah Badu surprised the crowd in an oversized hat and floor-length black veil. She revealed the winner to be Swedish-born activist and costume designer B. Åkerlund, who has outfitted some of the world's most iconic artists such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Britney Spears.

Comedian Dana Goldberg returned as auctioneer, leading both a spirited paddle raise and a bidding race for such elite live-auction packages as a week in Puerto Vallarta, a villa stay in Costa Rica, a South African safari for two, a colorful painting of Dolly Parton titled Born With a Good Heart by Ashley Longshore, an in-home private chef dinner for six, a jaunt to Cortana, Italy, and a romantic Turks & Caicos escape for two.

This led into the much-anticipated fashion show, which opened with a "Diamonds Are Forever" James Bond tableau and then ran the gamut from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to "Rhinestone Rodeo." At different points, the enraptured audience experienced dancers from Ballet North Texas, live musicians scattered across the T-shaped runway, and pajama-clad phone operators cooing to their callers. It was, as always, an over-the-top night to remember

DIFFA Dallas' signature fundraising events continue throughout the year, with Burgers & Burgundy set for October 9 and the Holiday Wreath Collection happening in winter. The 2026 House of DIFFA will take place May 9, 2026, at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

Since 1984, DIFFA has granted millions of dollars to North Texas HIV/AIDS programs by raising funds through the production of incredible events highlighting the design community. DIFFA is one of the largest and most successful fundraising organizations for HIV/AIDS nonprofit service providers and education programs within Texas, New York, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Washington.

DIFFA is the only HIV/AIDS organization in Texas that provides non-earmarked funding exclusively to HIV/AIDS service efforts in our communities, thus providing for the direct care for persons living with HIV/AIDS. Dallas is DIFFA's largest fundraising chapter. The unique design-focused events DIFFA Dallas holds include Burgers and Burgundy, DIFFA Wreath Celebration, and House of DIFFA.

Photo by Kelly Alexander

Gabriella Monte

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