The Connector
The Connector

Prominent designers and some of Atlanta’s most fashionable converged at the 55 Allen Plaza office tower downtown for auctions, cocktails, couture and a cause on Aug. 31.

The cause: Jeffrey Fashion Cares, a fundraising partnership between SCAD and luxury retailer Jeffrey S. Kalinsky, now in its 17th year. Kalinsky is a longtime friend of SCAD and recipient of the first-ever Étoile Award at the inaugural SCAD Style Étoile Gala in 2006. He first established Fashion Cares in Atlanta to heighten awareness of HIV/AIDS and breast cancer, according to a news release.

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This year’s highlighted guests included renowned designer Anne Barge and fashion designer Jason Wu, who designed first lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball gown. According to press materials, Barge was chosen to serve as honorary chair of the event because of her contributions to the bridal industry and her strong support of Fashion Cares. Wu served as the event’s special guest designer, following in the footsteps of legendary designers like Oscar de La Renta (2007) and Isaac Mizrahi (2008).

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SCAD faculty and staff at the event included Michael Fink, dean of the new school of fashion; David Goodrowe, associate dean of design; Elizabeth Roth, managing director of communications; Sarah Collins, fashion chair of Atlanta and Tenley Gilstrap, secretary to the president.

A pre-show cocktail reception kicked off the event, and the main show began with a preview of garments designed by 10 SCAD alumnae nominees for the Jeffrey New Talent Award: Payton Berry, Christina Lynn Coniglio, Ellen Creasy, Caroline Mae Heidenreich, Kate Hundley, Aileen Lowe, Bronwyn Meehan, Melody K. Oesterle, Alicia Staples and Melissa Van Duzer. This year marked an increase from last year’s seven nominees.

Each graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion in 2009 and participated in the SCAD-Savannah Style Lab mentorship program with acclaimed international designers Yigal Azrouël and Lars Nilsson.

Models sashayed up and down the runway, giving the audience a close-up of the graduates’ work.

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In the end, Heidenreich walked away with the Jeffrey New Talent Award, presented by Kalinsky. This is the fourth year Kalinsky presented the award to a SCAD graduate.

Heidenreich, whose collection combines socio-political commentary with strong couture silhouettes, said she was ecstatic upon receiving the award. According to university press materials, Heidenreich said “I wanted to create beauty out of something initially designed to serve in destruction.”. For her collection, she used unusual materials such as mosquito netting, parachutes and military-issued tents. She said her two main methods of construction were draping and deconstruction.

Aside from the new talent fashion show, Jeffrey Fashion Cares also featured silent and live auctions for various luxury travel packages to national and international destinations. The auctions were followed by another fashion show with runway models wearing Kalinsky’s selections from high-end designers, including Gucci, Prada, Marni, Manolo Blahnik, Balenciaga, Christian Louboutin, Bottega Veneta and Jason Wu.

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The night closed with a VIP after-party at the W Hotel downtown, with a performance by Fred Schneider, best known as the front man of the rock band The B-52s.

Tickets for this year’s Jeffrey Fashion Cares event ranged from $1,500 to $25,000. Proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure-Greater Atlanta Affiliate and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund.

Photos by Ben Dashwood/SCAD Photography.

To view a video of the show, click on SCAD Atlanta’s fashion department blog link http://blog.scad.edu/fashion