Spring 2013 Fashion Highlights: Diane Von Furstenburg

Reverse Course

It was a fun-filled evening of fashion and fundraising at Diane Von Furstenberg’s downtown studio last night, as New Yorkers celebrated the first-annual Reverse Rett Gala. Partygoers enjoyed a special performance by acclaimed pianist Ido Alexander and additional tunes from DJ Jon Oliver while sipping on cocktails donated by Lotus Vodka and Manhattan Beer Distributors. Among the notable guests in attendance included Stephen Baldwin, Horizon Media CEO Bill Koenigsberg and his wife, Jessica, Bill Cummings and Bernt Heiberg, Sonny and Michelle Kalsi and Dean Palin.

A silent auction featured items like New York Yankee “Leader Seats” tickets, a Salvatore Ferragamo handbag, DVF luggage, a Steinway Piano lease, designer gowns from Derek Lam and Philip Lim, and many other items. In sum, the night brought in more than a quarter of a million dollars, with 98-percent of that amount going directly to fund research for Rett, the most physically disabling of the autism spectrum disorders.

The night was hosted by Diane Von Furstenberg, Heidi and Jonathan Epstein, Jennifer and Thomas Lopez, Rachel and Jason Rothschild, and Paula and David Southren, MD, who hope to one day make Rett the first reversible brain disorder. –Wendy Furrer