Last Week’s Party: Deborah Kass, VERA, and SAVE.LOVE.GIVE

The conversation guided their guests from her participation in the 1972 Whitney Independent Study Program through to her most recent body of work, “Feel Good Paintings for Feel Bad Times.” Paul Kasmin, whose gallery represents Kass, artist Will Ryman, and collector Beth Rudin deWoody could be seen in an animated crowd.

Kass, who startled the art world with her Pop paintings in the ’80s and ’90s, mingled amiably throughout the evening with a rounded guest list that included New York art staples Chuck Close, Marilyn Minter, and Laurie Simmons.

VERA and SAVE.LOVE.GIVE
Across town, freezing temperatures did nothing to dampen the spirit of celebration on Friday, January 25, as notable New Yorkers and international attendees alike convened on The Ambassador River View at the United Nations. The gathering of philanthropists, artists, musicians, fashion designers, and socialites was for a good cause. Validas, with the support of company co-founders Tom Pepe and Todd Dunphy, launched VERA and the SAVE.LOVE.GIVE campaign.

Mary Alice Stephenson acted as Master of Ceremonies for the evening and was supported by hosts Fabiola Beracasa, Hannah Bronfman, Jennifer Creel, Jennifer Gilbert, Kelly Rutherford, Julie Macklowe, Susan Shin, Tennessee Thomas, and Arden Wohl.

The VERA campaign is a free mobile phone application that allows users to repurpose money from their unused data and messaging to philanthropic causes. To launch the initiative Validas partnered with The Seven Bar Foundation—a foundation that aims to harness the influence of the fashion industry to empower women through microfinance. In recognition of the fashion industry’s support of VERA and SAVE.LOVE.GIVE, influential fashion designers and artists were asked to “re-imagine the corset form as an expression of empowerment rather than confinement.”

The “reimagined” corsets were shown in two runway presentations that displayed projects from Agent Provocateur, Erin Fetherson, Guy Laroche, Zang Toi, Moss Lipow, and Mickalene Thomas. Both presentations were styled by Warren-Tricomi.

French import Yelle took to the stage for a live performance, much to the delight of an audience that included noteworthy attendees Selita Ebanks, Marcel Morongiu, Edward Tricomi, Miguelina Gambaccini, Vivienne Tam, Phillip Bloch, Jessica Craig-Martin, Cory Kennedy, and Lady Liliana Cavendish.