richard chai | A Dove's Flight

GMHC Fashion Forward: Charity Event for AIDS awareness & prevention

Recently attended the Fashion Forward event which was a fundraiser for the GMHC

Of course my client RealBeautyRealWomen.com was there at the red carpet taking pictures and interviewing celebrities. Our host for this event was George Ortiz from Project Runway and the Rachel Ray show. The real reason behind the event wasn’t just to look good and have fun there was a cause attached to this fabulous event.

Host George Ortiz interviewing Radio Host turned talk show Host Wendy Williams.

The GMHC goal with Fashion Forward is to fight to the end of the AIDS epidemic and uplift the lives of all affected. By combining fashion into the mix you have an event that will attract people to come out and support. [GMHC stands for Gay Men’s Health Crisis] It also offered the chance for the designer to showcase their lines for the season. The money raised goes towards to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic. What a great cause. And no event in New York is complete without reality TV show crews I spotted crews from Real Housewives of New York to The Cake Boss. This will provide Fashion Forward with even more exposure and help with their cause. Not only do you experience great fashion you are raising money for a good cause. There was also a silent auction throughout the evening as well as a live action.

some auction items

The latest statistics of the global HIV and AIDS epidemic were published by UNAIDS in November 2009, and refer to the end of 2008.

	Estimate	Range
People living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	33.4 million	31.1-35.8 million
Adults living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	31.3 million	29.2-33.7 million
Women living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	15.7 million	14.2-17.2 million
Children living with HIV/AIDS in 2008	2.1 million	1.2-2.9 million
People newly infected with HIV in 2008	2.7 million	2.4-3.0 million
Children newly infected with HIV in 2008	0.43 million	0.24-0.61 million
AIDS deaths in 2008	2.0 million	1.7-2.4 million
Child AIDS deaths in 2008	0.28 million	0.15-0.41 million

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

Africa has over 14 million AIDS orphans.

At the end of 2008, women accounted for 50% of all adults living with HIV worldwide

In developing and transitional countries, 9.5 million people are in immediate need of life-saving AIDS drugs; of these, only 4 million(42%) are receiving the drugs.

Now we move on to the fashion

The Master of Ceremonies was Tim Gunn. The fashion show featured designs from Yigal Azrouel, Narciso Rodriguez, Richard Chai, Anna sui, Simon Spurr, and (my favorite) Diane von Furstenberg.