Dixie D’Amelio, LaQuan Smith, Reed Krakoff and Others Toasted at FGI’s ‘Night of Stars’

With all of the slick runway shows, big-name designers and highly polished boutiques, fashion can appear to be all glamour, but working in the industry takes fortitude — and time.

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That was a recurring message from several of the award winners at the Fashion Group International’s “Night of Stars” at The Plaza hotel Tuesday night. It was also suitable considering that the event was marking a 40-year anniversary — no small feat given New York City’s busy fall social calendar.

Even when welcoming guests, Zac Posen and Coco Rocha, (who were the evening’s honorary chairs with Richard Dickson), touched upon the tests of time in their friendship and careers. Posen joked that he had become a FGI “Rising Star” award winner in 1800. And Rocha showed off his current agility — an evening gown made of Gap icon denim jackets. Posen, Gap Inc.’s newly installed executive vice president and creative director, quickly turned the spotlight onto the honorees, saying, “Tonight we are here to celebrate you. You have elevated our craft to new heights. You are the true stars tonight, and we applaud your remarkable contributions.”

FGI’s leader Maryanne Grisz acknowledged how integral the late Margaret Hayes and Diane Clehane were to creating the annual gala. Recalling how FGI was founded “by women and for women in 1930,” Grisz hinted at the next generation, wearing a gown designed by Cyril Verdavainne, a 2024 “Rising Star” winner. The organization now spans 26 regions as “a grassroots organization that can make change happen.” In addition to plans to make “Night of Stars” a global event, the group has launched a Thought Leaders Platinum Membership.

Honoring Fern Mallis with the Founders award, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle spoke of how fashion is “a really, really hard business behind-the scenes. Everyone in this room knows it. It is an industry where the margins are so small. One year you are the hottest, most fabulous, celebrated person and the next season you’re forgotten,” she said.

Beyond being able to spot a trend and new talent, Ruhle praised Mallis for her realness and understanding of human nature, talent, hard work, drive and “what real mentorship is.” Hundreds of guests seemed to agree, giving Mallis, the architect behind New York Fashion Week and creator of “Fashion Icons” talks, the only standing ovation of the night. “I love being part of this extraordinary industry, which can be tough, challenging and sometimes even appreciative, but ultimately warm, generous, unpredictable and always creative,” Mallis said. “Remember my advice to succeed is, ‘Be nice and vote.’”

Estée Lauder’s Catherine Bomboy Dougherty was saluted for championing education and literacy with poet Amanda Gorman and for helping to raise more than $50 million with MAC Viva Glam and Rihanna to benefit HIV and AIDS patients. The “Beauty” award winner, said, “Beauty is about more than appearances. It’s about empowerment, confidence, self-expression. I am so fortunate to work alongside people, who understand the power of beauty and helping others to feel seen and valued.”

During the Night of Stars program, former “Night of Stars” winners like Elie Tahari and Dennis Basso took to the stage separately to toast FGI’s milestone and the organization. Presenting the “Vanguard” award to her business partner LaQuan Smith, Jacqueline Cooper recalled how they met “in a very organic, beautiful way — the club of New York City.”  She said, “It’s crazy how he has been able to accomplish everything that he set out to do, but also be very true to himself, organic and still have this love of New York City and vibrancy that we don’t really see too often nowadays.”

Smith said, “From a young boy growing up in Queens, N.Y., designing dresses in my grandmother’s basement, I have certainly come a long way.”

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Just as his grandparents “never wavered in their support” of him, Smith acknowledged Cooper’s support and shared the award with her. “Jackie is everything — my business partner, manager, wife, best friend. I’ve never had anyone who has fought so hard for me. We really do fight like cats and dogs — it’s really bad sometimes. But she is always there for me and saying, ‘LaQuan, today is a new day’ — no matter how hard it gets.”

The 2024 “Humanitarian” award winner, Harry Kargman, Kargo’s founder and chief executive officer, was unable to attend the gala, due to the recent loss of his father-in-law Arie Kopelman , former president and chief operating officer of Chanel Inc.

Heidi and Marc D’Amelio, and one of their influencer daughters Dixie, accepted the Media award on behalf of their social media-centric family, which has a reach of 400 million. (Their daughter Charli is busy preparing for her Broadway debut in “& Juliet.”) The New York City-born Marc D’Amelio clued in many to the fact that he had started his own clothing brand 20 years ago and that his great grandfather had been a dress designer in New York. “My wife came here from Louisiana and fashion brought us together. I remember being in Paris watching Dixie do a fashion shoot for Valentino, and Charli’s doing things for Prada,” he said. “I think about how fashion has impacted our lives and [the lives of] so many families in this audience. It’s really incredible what FGI is doing with all of the opportunities that’s it going to give to so many people to experience what my family has experienced.”

Picking up the “Fashion Visionary” award, Reed Krakoff spoke of the significance of being celebrated by one’s peers, many of whom he’s grown up with in the industry in the past 30 years. “People like Fern, who was one of my early supporters. I think she was my only supporter at one point,” Krakoff quipped. “I actually was rejected by the CFDA once. Fern was instrumental in getting me in.”

Highlighting his career stops at Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Tiffany & Co., and now John Hardy, Krakoff mentioned how along the way there were moments where someone saw something in him that he didn’t see. He singled out Hilfiger for tapping him as creative director, when that role was just emerging. He also mentioned how he joined Coach, despite having never designed a handbag, a fact that others were unaware of — but he learned. “This industry is so much more than a job. I’ve been so fortunate to have so many incredible relationships, experiences, travel, and ups and downs. As all of the creative people who came up here have mentioned, fashion is a tough business. But the relationships and the people are really what make it what it is,” he said.

Accepting the “Fashion Heritage” award from the actress Kate Hudson, Max Mara’s Maria Giulia Prezioso Maramotti recalled how as a four-year-old she visited her grandfather at work drawing. “I still feel the same passion and excitement today that I felt when I was four years old. This is why, for us, Max Mara, is much more than a fashion house. It is our family legacy, a labor of love and it represents our values of the vision of my grandfather, when he founded the company in 1951.”

Emphasizing how that continues, Maramotti said, “My family and I are committed to continuing our mission of creating beautiful, meaningful fashion that resonates across time, because after all, that is what heritage is about — the ability to transfer beauty and values across generations.”

As The Plaza’s ballroom emptied out and some guests spoke of nightcaps, the D’Amelios gamely posed for selfies with attendees — they have “never refused a photo — ever,” according to Marc D’Amelio. That fan base inevitably could bode well for his kin’s next venture. With D’Amelio Footwear up-and-running, the plan is to do some licensing deals for accessories and other categories. One thing that most designers can’t do is play the piano with their toes, as Dixie D’Amelio can and occasionally still does. “Just to make sure that I still can — I’ve got a few songs,” she said, before being reeled into another selfie.

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