El Museo del Barrio held its annual Gala on Wednesday, May 21 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Over 500 dinner guests were greeted with the signature Cipriani Bellini at 7pm, followed by dinner and welcoming remarks from Tony Bechara and Jorge Daniel Veneciano. Designer, Alejandro Ingelmo was honored with the Artistic Achievement Award, Present by Teen Vogue’s Editor in Chief, Amy Astley. Andy Unanue presented Maria Eugenia Maury and Dr. William A. Haseltine with the award, named in memory of his father, Joseph A. Unanue Trustee Leadership Award. The Gala Chair was CuCu Diamantes and the Gala Co-Chairs were Andrés Levin, Anita Durst, Lex Fenwick, and Cathy and Alex López Negrete.

Artist CuCu Diamantes asked friends Ray Smith to do an artist invention and Jessica Sophia Mitrani to do the artistic details, which complimented Jerónimo Gaxiola Balsa’s events décor. Gala Chair Cucu Diamantes put a spin on the night by bringing original art and sounds to the evening. Ray Smith’s series of wooden candelabras titled “Candelaria” was produced in his studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn. This was the finished first project for his studio since superstorm Sandy after the studio was destroyed in October 2012. This series of 50 unique sculptures was available at auction at the event.

This year’s Gala featured a memorable performance by Gala Chair CuCu Diamantes. Co-Chair Andrés produced the Gala’s entertainment, which included a special reunion performance by Yerba Buena, the Grammy nominated Latin fusion band which Andrés and CuCu founded. The opening performance was by The Pedrito Martínez Group. “This was an evening of great pride for Latins and an evening of great interest to non-Latins; we couldn’t possibly imagine a better moment for our band to make a special reunion appearance, the first in five years--- it was special. The gala was like no other with dancing till the wee hours,” said the Gala Chair. CuCu Diamantes performed with her band and with Levin’s reuniting their band " yerba buena" - and debuted her new song "Pecados de Picasso" (sins of Picasso) in collaboration with artist Ray Smith. The event’s décor and entertainment were both inspired by Pablo Picasso; the night was led by a group of music and visual artists donating their time to celebrate a museum that supports the El Museo community.

“The Gala inaugurated a new chapter in El Museo’s history. We honored great emerging talent together with great sustaining commitment—in Alejandro Ingelmo with Maria Eugenia Maury and William A. Haseltine. I am thrilled to be El Museo’s Director at this exciting moment of the museum’s rebirth,” said El Museo’s new Director, Jorge Daniel Veneciano.

The menu included: Roasted tri-color beets with haricot verts and crumbled goat cheese, wahyu strip loin steak with fresh herb mélange sauce, ricotta cheese cake with fresh strawberry sauce, miniature éclairs, strawberries dipped in bittersweet chocolate, assorted cookies, biscotti, miniature fruit tarts, Zonin Pinot Grigo and Zonin Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.

Notable guests who attended include: Susan Sarandon, Gabriela Isler Miss Universe®, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Kiara Kabukurub, Grace Mahary, Ambassador Sandra Fuentes-Berain, Francois Payard, Jessica Joffe, Amy Astley, Carlos Campos, Ray Smith & Mark Seliger.

Patrons who attended included: Carolina Alvarez-Mathies, Tony Bechara (Chair of El Museo’s Board), Estrellita Brodsky, Emerson Barth, Courtney Bennett, Ambassador Sandra Fuentes- Berain, Ali Cordero Casal, Doris Casap, Jill Demling,  Anita Durst, Yaz and Valentin Hernández, Gaily and John Beinecke, Perla Capriles, Michael García, Francisco X. Gonzalez and Jeannette M. Baez, Frank Burgel and America Gonzalez, Florence Haseltine, Mara Haseltine, Mr. and Mrs. John S. Heimann, Mark Holgate, Warren James, Michael Kaiser, Susan Kaufman, Jerome Levy, Alexandra Lebenthal and Jeremy Diamond, Galerie Lelong, Cathy and Alex Lopez Negrete, Leslie Dumont and Fred Levin, Marcia and Richard Mishaan, Mary and Larry McCaffrey, Enrique Norten, Patricia and Ramiro Ortiz, Raphael Montanez Ortiz, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos and Paul Kanavos, Leticia and Rick Presutti, Keith Pollick, Roxanne Robinson,  Tracey and Phillip Riese, Daniel Rachmanis, Patti and Juan Ruiz-Healy, Yolanda Santos, Ray Smith, Norma and David Smith, Pedro Torres, August Uribe, Carmen Ana Unanue, Andy and Marie Unanue, and Marie and Andy Unanue, Sabrina Wirth and Irene Zingg. 

Target Corporation   announced it is partnering with Altuzarra – a luxury fashion brand known for merging femininity, sophistication and practicality – on a limited-edition collection of women’s ready-to-wear, accessories and shoes. The collection will be available Sept. 14 at most Target stores in the United States and Canada, as well as Target.com. Additionally, an edited assortment of the Target collection will be available globally at NET-A-PORTER.COM.

   “As a designer, I believe firmly in the transformative power of fashion. It has the ability to not only change how you look, but also how you feel,” said Joseph Altuzarra, the brand’s designer and creative director. “I’ve admired the elegance that Target brings to fast fashion. By working together on this capsule collection, we hope to instill a sense of power, confidence and beauty in women everywhere.”

The Altuzarra brand is celebrated for embodying a combination of French sophistication and American ease, appealing to refined, independent women. This fall, Altuzarra’s aesthetic arrives at Target, empowering women to discover the transformative power of fashion at affordable prices. The collection features a mix of iconic Altuzarra silhouettes with designs created specifically for Target. It includes nearly 50 items, ranging in price from $17.99 to $89.99 for apparel and lingerie, and $29.99 to $79.99 for shoes and accessories. 

“We’re always on the hunt for designers who we believe will inspire our guests,” said Trish Adams, executive vice president of apparel and home, Target. “Joseph’s passion for making women feel confident in their fashion choices is unrivaled, and this fall, Target’s guests can experience his signature style at prices that are almost too good to be true.”


“We are thrilled to be a part of this collaboration with Target and Altuzarra,” states Alison Loehnis, president, NET-A-PORTER.COM. “The collection is everything we have come to expect from Joseph’s aesthetic – chic, sophisticated and modern. We are so excited to offer NET-A-PORTER customers an opportunity to own these fabulous pieces.”

Season after season, the Altuzarra brand continues to grow in popularity, with a strong celebrity following including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Bosworth, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Dockery and Cate Blanchett, among others. Born in Paris and raised by a Chinese-American mother and French father, Joseph attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and remained in the United States to begin his design career in New York City. His multicultural influences and early work with prominent designers led him to establish his namesake line in 2008. From there, Joseph quickly became a fashion force, receiving numerous prestigious awards and nominations. In January 2010, he was the recipient of the Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award and Fashion Group International’s Rising Star of the Year Award. He also received the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in 2011 and the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear Design in 2012. Most recently, he received a nomination for the 2014 CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year.

  More information about Altuzarra for Target is available on ABullseyeView.com. Guests can join in on the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #AltuzarraforTarget.

Target and the CFDA celebrated their longstanding partnership and enhanced {FASHION INCUBATOR} program with an intimate dinner party at The Highline Hotel in New York City. The industry’s finest joined Target’s Noria Morales, director of design partnerships and CFDA’s Steven Kolb, chief executive officer in toasting the current {FASHION INCUBATOR} class and Target’s amplified support of the program.

For more than 15 years, the Bullseye has partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) to provide resources for fashion talent, including the {FASHION INCUBATOR}, a two-year business development program that fosters emerging New York designers. Only 10 designers — or “incubators,” as they’re called — are chosen to participate in the prestigious program every few years, so if you’re name is on that list, you’re one to watch!

But never one to stand still, Target is upping the ante this year, giving incubators a chance at the big leagues and, perhaps, cultivating the next great American fashion brand.

Not only will the incubators benefit from a series of workshops hosted by some of the industry’s brightest minds, they’ll also have a chance to compete for two design honors. This includes the chance to see their designs on tech accessories at Target stores across the country, as well as — drumroll, please — an opportunity to bring their designs straight to shoppers through a two-week pop-up shop hosted by Target!

Target announced the news earlier tonight at an intimate dinner at The Highline Hotel in honor of the 2014 — 2016 CFDA {FASHION INCUBATOR} program designers.

This latest CFDA class includes: Dana Arbib, Farah Malik and Jesse Meighan (A PEACE TREATY), Sara Beltrán (DEZSO BY SARA BELTRÁN), Isa Tapia (ISA TAPIA), Kaelen Haworth (KAELEN), Sarah Law (KARA), Katie Ermilio (KATIE ERMILIO), Lucio Castro (LUCIO CASTRO), Yara Flinn (NOMIA), Misha Nonoo (NONOO ), Matthew and Alex Orley, Samantha Florence (ORLEY).

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Photos by Neil Rasmus/BFAnyc.com

On a very rainy, April 30, 2014, Jacqueline Desmarais, patron of the musical arts and benefactor of young musicians, and Frank Gehry, iconoclastic architect and design visionary, were honored by the Council for Canadian American Relations (CCAR) at its 40th anniversary Gala dinner in New York City at the private club on the Upper East Side of manhattan.  The Honorary Gala Chairmen were The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney and Mrs. Mila Mulroney, and The Honorable Hilary M. Weston and W. Galen Weston.  Audrey and David Mirvish with Lauren and John J. Veronis were the Gala Co-Chairs. The gala hosted prominent dignitaries as well as leaders in business, the arts, and public life from both countries.

Guests that attended included: David and Carol Appel, Count and Countess Arco, Michael Audain, Ashleigh Banfield, Aszure Barton, Dennis Basso, Charles and Rita Bronfman, Geoff Beattie and Amanda Lang, Lucien Bouchard, Zita Cobb, Mr. and Mrs. Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, Brad Cloepfil and Lisa Strasfeld, Tom d’ Aquino, Sophie Desmarais and Daniel Valoatto, Ambassador Gary Doer, Rupert Duchesne, Dee Dee Taylor Eustace, Leslie Feely, James Fleck, Robert Foster, Sam Gehry, Peter Gelb, Peter Herrndorf and Eva Czigler, Ambassador Bruce and Vicky Heyman, Ambassador David and Julie Jacobson, Bank of Montreal, Hélène de Kovachich and Pierre Marc Johnson, Greg Kane and Adrian Burns, Dorothy Kosinski and Thomas Krähenbühl, Phyllis Lambert, Robert Lepage, Jessica London, Robert McEwen, Diana McQueen, David Mirvish, Brian and Mila Mulroney, Anthony Munk, Kent Nagano and Madeleine Careau, Judy Ney and Lee Elman, Gordon Nixon, David and Gail O’Brien, Gordon and Dailey Pattee, Dominique Poirier, Consul General John Prato, John and Phyllis Rae, Ambassador Guillermo E. Rishchynski, Leon and Paula Root, Wilbur Ross and Hilary Geary Ross, Francois Roy, Dame Jillian Sackler, Stephen and Christine Schwarzman, Jay Smith, Lesley S. Smith, Frank and Harriet Stella, Peter Stringham, Ambassador Kenneth Taylor, Matthew Tietelbaum, Stephane Tétreault, Arni Thornsteinson, John and Lauren Veronis, and Hilary and Galen Weston.

The gala evening’s program highlighted the accomplishments of its distinguished honorees, whose contributions have made a significant difference in the arts and culture of both Canada and the United States.  The evening was also a celebration of CCAR's 40 years of achievement, as well as the organization's future plans for important cultural collaborations between Canada and the United States. A portion of the funds raised during the event will go a newly named Jacqueline Desmarais Fund for Young Artists and to the TurnaroundArts initiative (an affiliate of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities) on behalf of Frank Gehry.

Images by Owen Hoffmann and Jonathan Ziegler / Patrick McMullan Company

On April 30, Bergdorf Goodman hosted an intimately luncheon at Goodman’s Café to celebrate FIT Foundation’s 2014 Gala honorees; which includes Bergdorf Goodman’s ‘style setter’ Linda Fargo.

Luncheon guests included: Mallory Andrews, Martine and Prosper Assouline, Pamela Baxter, Dr. Joyce Brown, Noreen Buckfire, Barbara Cirkva, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Dee Dee Eustice, Linda Fargo, Robert Ferguson, Hilary Geary, Yaz Hernandez, Joan Hornig, Reed Krakoff, Adam Lipps, Carol Mack, Cheryl McEwen, Gilles Mindel, Liz Peek, Paulina Porizkova, Kelly Rutherford, Martha Stewart, Dee Dee Eustice Taylor, Barbara Tober, Elizabeth von der Goltz, and Cindy Weber-Cleary.

Looking ahead: The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Foundation will it’s honor Board Chairman (and former Kohl’s president) Dr. Jay Baker, Bergdorf Goodman’s Linda Fargo, and jewelry designer and philanthropist Joan Hornig at the foundation’s annual gala Monday, June 9, 2014 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York. The black-tie event will begin with cocktails at 7:00, followed by dinner at 8:00.   Alber Elbazwill fly from Paris to make a special presentation of the award to Linda Fargo.  The Gala’s Chairs are Pamela Baxter, Joy Herfel Cronin, Victoria Elenowitz, Yaz Hernandez, Jane Hertzmark Hudis, and Liz Peek. A special décor will be created by Devon Bruce and invitations will be in the purple and silver in honor of Bergdorf Goodman.

Images by  Joe Schildhorn /BFAnyc.com