| EVENT REPORT 11.03.04 12:00 AM |
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| Shoe Sale Benefits Breast Cancer Charity |
| It looked like Carrie Bradshaw's fantasy: thousands of pairs of shoes-from Blahniks to Keds-all for sale, and half off, at QVC's Shoes on Sale gala benefit at the Hammerstein Ballroom. |
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| It looked like Carrie Bradshaw's fantasy: thousands of pairs of shoes—from Blahniks to Keds—all for sale, and half off, at QVC's Shoes on Sale gala at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The event drew 1,000 guests from New York's fashion footwear industry for an evening that raised funds for breast cancer research and education. Karen Giberson, QVC's director of special events, planned the benefit in partnership with the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Guests could purchase shoes for 50 percent off the regular price at the QVC Presents the Fashion Footwear Association of New York's Shoes on Sale benefit at the Hammerstein Ballroom. (Photo: Jemel/WireImage) |
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 | | Tony Danza served as the M.C. on a stage by J. Ben Bourgeois Productions during the dinner portion of the evening. (Photo: Jeff Thomas/ImageCapture) |
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 | | Dinner tables for 1,000 guests packed the Hammerstein Ballroom. (Photo: Jeff Thomas/ ImageCapture) |
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 | | Abigail Kirsch's whimsical dessert trays featured shoe-shaped chocolates and white chocolate legs sticking out of mini carrot cupcakes. (Photo: Jeff Thomas/ImageCapture) |
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Giberson knows the event from both the guest and planner perspectives. "I was a happy shopper at the [first] event. I was introduced to the head of FFANY at a lunch and asked when the next sale would be. I was informed that they did not plan to repeat [it]," she said. "We suggested doing the event on QVC and the rest is history."
A department store-like setup in the basement level offered guests the opportunity to buy designer shoes for 50 percent off. A simultaneous shoe sale occurred on-air on QVC—glimpses of the gala were interspersed with the live shoe sale. The event raised $2.3 million through the sale of 70,000 pairs of shoes.
For the cocktail hour, J. Ben Bourgeois paired white lounges with colorful, underlit cocktail table cubes. For the dinner hour, pink, green, and gray bengaline table linens and chair slipcovers mimicked the colors in the event's logo. The pale colors offset a vividly lit stage, where M.C. Tony Danza presided, Donna Summer gave a one-hour concert, and a live auction followed.
Abigail Kirsch did double duty as caterer and decorator. Executive pastry chef Laura Baldassarri created 18-inch-tall, three-tiered edible chocolate centerpieces covered with Victorian shoe-shaped chocolates, carrot cupcakes decorated with legs sticking out of the top, chocolate-dipped strawberries, peanut-butter-filled profiteroles, and other chocolate treats. The centerpieces decked all 90 dinner tables, giving the whole event a mouth-watering chocolate scent—some guests couldn't help picking at the desserts before the entree was served.
—Suzanne Ito
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