The red carpet is illuminated at the 29th annual night of stars

There was no shortage of star power at The Fashion Group International’s 29^th Annual Night of Stars. The “Dream Catcher” Black Tie Dinner and awards presentation was a star-studded night of appreciation and recognition at the luxurious Cipriani restaurant. Filled with industry powerhouses, egos were left at the door and stars came out Thursday night to support and pay respect to industry friends and colleagues. With names like Karl Laggerfeld and Carolina Herrera alone, the upscale Wall Street venue was a perfect choice for the fashionable crowd. Illuminated by colored lighting and decorated with beautiful arrays of flowers, each table was just as stylish as the room full of honorees, presenters and VIP guests.

The red carpet for FGI’s Night of Stars was a fashion show in its own right. Although not donned in the more intricate gowns of other award ceremonies, celebrities were still dressed to impress and many proved that black does not go out of style. Actresses Renee Zellweger and Sarah Jessica Parker who were both presenters for the evening chose simple yet effective dresses. Academy Award winning Zellweger opted for a more demure look in a grey body shaping off the shoulder dress with minimal accessories. Superstar honoree Carolina Herrera looked elegant in a long black mermaid skirt with a black and blue blouse. Meanwhile, The Sex and the City star chose a playful colorful striped below-the-knee dress to present the deserving stylist and model L’Wren Scott with the Lord & Taylor Fashion Oracle award. Actress Viola Davis appropriately wore a black and white Max Mara dress to present Nicola Maramotti with the Brand Heritage award for Max Mara. Davis says her choice to wear her hair naturally and the fashion choices she has been spotted in lately (like the Max Mara dress she wore for this award ceremony,) make her feel comfortable. She says “I like the woman I see in the mirror.” The compliment made Maramotti smile; he expressed that it was an honor to accept the award presented by Davis.

TV Host Kelly Ripa, wore a strapless gown that was grey, black and white and admitted her best accessory was her hubby Mark Consuelos in a tux. Unarguably so, the men of the night were also making fashion statements. Even though typically men don’t have as much variety in fashion for Black Tie events as their female counterparts, on this night the men showed flare. Consuelos’ white shirt, was paired with a cream blazer and black pants, finished with a bowtie. Others who wore bowties included one of the night’s honorees James Gager who is the Senior VP and Group Director of MAC cosmetics and Executive Vice President of Tiffany and Company, Jon King. Vogue’s very own Hambish Bowles and Fashion designer Bibhu Mohapatra wore bowties as well. There was nothing funny about Seth Myers of Saturday Night Live who looked sharp in his tux but he chose a long skinny neck tie as did famous fashion photographer and America’s Next Top model judge Nigel Barker who wore an all black suit. Meanwhile, designer Gareth Pugh showed off his fashion sense and matched his neck tie with a long tailed black jacket with leather sleeves and blue lining.

Other head turners were fashion models Liya Kedebe and Selita Ebanks who are equally beautiful and chose opposite looks. Kebede walked across the red carpet in a chic pant suit white Ebanks graced the carpet with a long grey dress. Both models as well as many other female attendees followed the makeup trend of dark or plum lip color. Linda Fargo, known as “the gatekeeper of style” and the Senior Vice President of Bergdorf Goodman wore an attention grabbing all black ensemble with leather skirt and boots and even wore black nail polish. That’s paying attention to details.

Even with all of the incredible talent and stardom under one roof, the atmosphere of the night remained friendly and celebratory. Guests were all smiles in support of each other proving that The FGI Night of the Stars was not only a night of fashion, it was a night of success.

Kamilah Dunbar

For more information about Fashion Group International, visit their website.