MOTHER KNOWS BEST: The 26th annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares event at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta on Monday night raised more than $800,000 for Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta, the Atlanta AIDS Fund and the Medical University of South Carolina. The tally since the event’s inception: more than $15 million raised for the beneficiaries.
Jeffrey Kalinsky, who operates two stores in Manhattan and Atlanta, unveiled a third unit in Palo Alto, Calif., on Wednesday.
“It’s a 12-minute runway show preceded by a live auction, which is preceded by a cocktail hour,” said Kalinsky, who admitted that he’s perfected a formula for keeping the event moving apace. “All that happens before we get seated. We keep the welcome remarks brief so we can get people out of there without having to listen to speeches. The evening is really all about fun and fashion.”
Dries Van Noten, Balenciaga, Dior, Saint Laurent Paris, Céline, Sacai, Givenchy and Calvin Klein were among the designers shown. “We had four looks at the end of the show by a designer, Edda, who’s based in Norway and does these beautiful cotton-printed dresses. We found her at the LVMH Prize showroom,” Kalinsky said. “It’s really a good opportunity to showcase a number of younger designers.
A dress by Michael Halpern.
Ben Rose/BenRosePhotography.com
“After the runway show is over, people disperse and go home,” he added. “At the mall, there’s several restaurants and bars where different groups go and have their own after-party situation.”
Kalinsky went home and packed his bags for a Tuesday flight to San Francisco, in anticipation of the Wednesday launch of his new store in Palo Alto. “I’m here with my mother. We just landed at the airport. She was there last night at Jeffrey Cares in Atlanta and she’s going to the opening of the store. She just turned 82,” he said sotto voce.
“I’ve come from one exciting event and I’m going to another exciting event,” said Sybil Kalinsky, shouting into her son’s cell phone. “He’s raised so much money in the Atlanta area and in New York. He’s definitely a visionary in so many ways.”
Asked about her favorite part of the evening and favorite designer, Sybil demurred. “It’s hard to say…the fashion show. At my age, I love whatever looks well and appropriate. I love Dries.”