GMHC's Fashion Forward 2008 Fundraiser

On Monday, November 11, I attended the Fashion Forward 2008 Fundraiser presented by Bank of America benefiting Gay Men's Health Crisis.  Project Runway alum, Jack Mackenroth invited me to this event and I was thrilled to be able to attend and represent Chic Galleria.com.

GMHC is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS.  They provide prevention and care services to more than 15,000 men, women and families that are living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS in New York City, and advocate for scientific, evidence-based public health solutions for hundreds of thousands worldwide.

Dr. Marjorie Hill, CEO, Gay Men's Health Crisis and Mr. Alan Rappaport, NY President, Bank of America, addressed the SOLD OUT crowd for this event held at Skylight Studios in New York City.  With over 700 in attendance, fashionistas, friends and supporters listened to stunning statistics about the growing numbers of people affected by HIV and AIDS.  Master of Ceremonies, Tim Gunn welcomed everyone and talked briefly about wrapping up Project Runway Season 6 in Los Angeles.  This drew some jeers from the New York based crowd.

Before the runway show, featuring six of New York's top designers, Betsey Johnson, Michael Bastian, Ports 1961 by Tia Cibani, Charles Nolan, Tim Hamilton and John Varvatos, the crowd browsed the fabulous silent auction items. These included vacations, jewelry, shopping sprees, a Michael Kors mink vest, Madonna concert tickets, and an autographed fashion table book.  U.S.A. Olympic Fencing Silver Medalists, Tim Morehouse and Jason Rogers were in attendance as well as Gretta Monahan, Andrew Buckler, Derek Lam, and Miss USA, Crystle Stewart.  Beverly Johnson was flawless in a dress designed by Project Runway Season 6 finalist, Korto Momolu.  Project Runway alums included Suede, Kevin Christiana and Malan Breton as well as New York stylist, Flavio Gomez. 

What a thrill it was to see my friend Jack introduced by Tim Gunn before the runway show.  Jack addressed the crowd with charm and dignity as he talked about living with HIV and how GMHC has helped him over the years.  He spoke of his new campaign Living Positive by Design with such enthusiasm and grace.  I wanted you all to read his passionate speech:

As Tim mentioned, we all know that HIV/AIDS has hit the fashion and arts community disproportionately. I wonder who else might be here tonight if AIDS had not picked so many flowers before their time. It's a thought that should motivate us and inspire us to work harder to combat the disease. That is one of the many reasons I am SO thankful for GMHC.

Some of you may know me from" Project Runway" and some of you know me personally. But what you probably don't know is that I have been a client of GMHC since the early 90's when I first moved to New York. When I was diagnosed with HIV almost 20 years ago I was a young, scared, starving Parsons student. GMHC provided free counseling, patient advocacy and legal services that I desperately needed but could not afford. They were the single bright light in a fairly bleak horizon of my life. So thank you GMHC for possibly saving my life so I could be here tonight.

"Project Runway" was an amazing tool for national exposure and has brought many amazing opportunities in fashion that I would not have had otherwise. However, I am most proud of the fact that I was open about my positive HIV status on the show and exemplified that a person can manage HIV and live a successful life. Every time a person with HIV is open about his or her status it helps everyone who is living with the disease. That's why I'm here tonight to talk about an inspiring HIV educational campaign I'm working on with Merck and many AIDS service organizations called Living Positive By Design. Living Positive By Design encourages people, both HIV + and HIV -, to engage in thoughtful conversations about HIV. Through these conversations, we hope to help eliminate the stigma still associated with the disease. We encourage people living with HIV to be proactive with their doctors to find a treatment regimen that gets their virus to an undetectable level, one of the most important goals of treatment. For physicians who treat HIV, we want them to consider treatment tolerability so patients are more likely to stay on their medications. In your gift bags tonight you will find a red scarf I have created as my interpretation of the classic red AIDS ribbon, which signifies the points of the Living Positive By Design campaign. I hope you wear it with pride and purpose.

I am a living testament to what you can accomplish by letting go of shame and being your own advocate. When I had to leave Project Runway prematurely, after hours of crying Tim said to me in the hallway as I left, "You are very talented and everything happens for a reason." At the time I thought he was just comforting me, but now I know it's true. Not everyone has the luxury of a support network like GMHC. We need to support each other. That is why I am so thankful that you all came here tonight to show your support. Please keep up all the amazing work that you are doing and know that every single person can make a difference. Thank you.

I will be dedicating an article within a few days to Jack Mackenroth and Living Positive by Design.  I hope you will take the time to visit his website and show your support.  Thank you Jack for a wonderful evening!

Read the Press Release of this fabulous event!

Photos: Jack Mackenroth and Tim Gunn courtesy of http://blog.jackmackenroth.com.  All other photos by Austin Anderson/Chic Galleria.com.

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