everyone<u+2019>s been so anxious about the election that they seemed pretty nervous about throwing a party the night before it. so it was actually a relief and an escape to go to a fashion event on monday, even if it happens to be one of the more significant and serious fashion events on the fashion calendar. this is the fashion fund dinner, at which winners are named from the selection of the cfda fashion fund finalists. this year<u+2019>s runners-up were adam selman, who has his own label and works quite often with rihanna, and the new orleans-based eyewear company krewe du optic. <u+201c>what a pretty egg,<u+201d> said mr. selman, of his physical award, a golden egg. (there is also a cash award.) laura vassar and kristopher brock took the grand prize, which included a golden swan, for their line, brock collection. besides many young fashion designers who have participated in the program over the years, the evening brought out olivia munn, hailey baldwin, kelly rowland, ben platt (straight from <u+201c>dear evan hansen<u+201d> rehearsal), hilary rhoda, solange knowles, nicola peltz, lizzie tisch, david copperfield, and brandon victor dixon, currently starring as aaron burr in <u+201c>hamilton<u+201d> on broadway. <u+201c>coming to a fashion event like this is totally new for me,<u+201d> said mr. dixon, who was wearing an electric blue suit by david hart. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s not my usual scene.<u+201d> so mr. dixon didn<u+2019>t know that, traditionally, this is also known as the party where they serve chicken pot pie. as per usual, the chicken pot pie had a hole in the middle of the crust, but this year the crust was also embossed with the letters <u+201c>v,<u+201d> <u+201c>t,<u+201d> and <u+201c>e,<u+201d> reading <u+201c>vote,<u+201d> with an american flag promoting the hillary clinton campaign. if you were eating a vegetarian meal, the presentation wasn<u+2019>t quite as festive. <u+201c>was this in your chicken pot pie?<u+201d> asked the actress and playwright sarah jones (whose play <u+201c>sell/buy/date<u+201d> was just extended at manhattan theatre club), as she picked up a stray flag on the table and placed in her salad. <u+201c>now it<u+2019>s <u+2018>i<u+2019>m with her<u+2019> quinoa.<u+201d> the other thing this evening is known for is its pearls of wisdom. diane von furstenberg passed along advice about focusing on intention from her <u+201c>wonderful chinese tai chi master.<u+201d> <u+201c>this is a crazy industry and we are all surfing the tsunami,<u+201d> said ms. von furstenberg. <u+201c>think deeply who you are and what you are trying to do. that<u+2019>s my gift to you.<u+201d> michael kors was the evening<u+2019>s keynote speaker. he spent some of his speech describing how he finally got to his uniform of a blazer, black t-shirt and jeans. <u+201c>when leg warmers became a fashion trend, i fell hard in love with leg warmers,<u+201d> he recalled. his first women<u+2019>s wear daily cover was a street shot of him wearing skin-tight jeans, three pairs of leg warmers, high-heel boots and a bomber jacket. they cut off his head and <u+201c>ran me as a girl,<u+201d> mr. kors said. some of mr. kors<u+2019> other insights included: <u+2022> take risks. <u+201c>you have to put yourself out there, you have to do what you have to do.<u+201d> <u+2022> years ago, he would host trunk shows all around the country to meet and understand his customers, but <u+201c>social media posts are the trunk shows of today.<u+201d> <u+2022> there are no guidelines to how to grow a label. <u+201c>fashion rules don<u+2019>t exist anymore. who would have thought there would be a thing called shopping at wine o<u+2019>clock?<u+201d> <u+2022> never settle. <u+201c>the minute you think you made it,<u+201d> you haven<u+2019>t. <u+201c>you always have to be thinking what<u+2019>s next.<u+201d> write to marshall heyman at marshall.heyman@wsj.com
finding relief in fashion - wsj
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