Starry Night

When an event is designed to honour achievement in the world of fashion, beauty, and design, there’s a little added pressure when it comes to choosing a theme and selecting the decor. From the outset, the executive committee of the Fashion Group International (F.G.I.) of Toronto knew it was aiming for one thing—to impress the 600 guests—when coordinating the organization's Night of Stars benefit. So the committee turned to the honourees themselves to find inspiration for Thursday’s black-tie gala at the Carlu.

“We’re really just celebrating the stars.... The stars were really the starting point,” F.G.I. co-regional director Laurie Hall said in an interview prior to the event. The gala—in the works for more than a year—marked the organization’s sixth such celebration in Toronto, the last of which was held in 2002, reported board member Christine Whittick. "It's actually quite special for us," she said.

The 2008 honourees included Barbara Atkin, vice president of fashion direction at Holt Renfrew; Toronto twins Dean and Dan Caten, founders and designers of Dsquared2; fashion designer Wayne Clark; interior designer Brian Gluckstein; and fashion writer David Livingstone. “Getting the stars in place and getting them to commit to being there on the night of [was key to the event’s success],” Hall said, noting that the Caten brothers flew in from their home in Milan for the event.The executive committee, co-chaired by Candice Chan and Kathy Cheng, worked with event producer Brigitte Foisy, creative director Pheinixx Paul, and designer Sinclair Russell to create the opulent old-glamour theme for the evening, Hall said. “It’s very glamourous-looking. We want the 'wow' factor,” she said, noting that the Carlu “was at the top of the wish list” for a venue. “The design and decor is fashionable, it really fits so well,” Hall said.

Russell dressed the dining room—in the Carlu’s concert hall—in a palette of grey and black with cream accents. Black-and-grey damask fabric draped the round dining tables, topped with tealights and small mosaic-tiled bust centrepieces adorned with strings of pearls and nestled between a pair of shoes provided by Zola Shoes. Cards in the shape of hand mirrors, which replicated the invites, displayed the table numbers.

Eatertainment Special Events & Catering handled the food. Caterwaiters passed hors d’oeuvres including plum poutine and goat cheese, pakora lollipops with mango ginger lassi, and pulled pork on green onion pancakes, while guests sipped on Moët & Chandon champagne at the reception. The three-course dinner began with an anise-poached pear martini with nut-crusted goat cheese, followed by ice-wine-baked beef tenderloin on roast tomato confit mash and marinated grilled asparagus. The vegetarian option was white-chocolate risotto served with grilled asparagus and a balsamic reduction. Dessert included take-out sweet soy ice cream and cinnamon wontons served in black Asian take-out containers on square white china plates.

Five vignettes in the Carlu’s grand foyer paid tribute to each of the honourees. A floor-length cream evening gown dressed a mannequin to honour Clark, a desk topped with architectural drawings and sketches paid tribute to Gluckstein, and a coffee cup, a pair of eyeglasses, and an assortment of pens topped piles of papers at the display in honour of Livingston.

The Carlu’s Sky Room, dubbed the Chic Boutique, housed the silent auction, which featured a one-of-a-kind black mink poncho designed by Izzy Camilleri, the opportunity to have Canadian designer Greta Constantine create a custom fur coat, and trips to the Cayman Islands, Manchester, and Glasgow. The evening continued in the Carlu’s Round Room with a performance by a 40-piece big band following the dinner gala.

More than 40 companies sponsored the event, including Audi, the Carlu, Eatertainment, Evian, Farley Chatto, the Hazelton Hotel, the Maud Street Group, Mediaco, Moët & Chandon, Motorcycle Productions, Pressure, Rowenta, Signature Event Rentals, and Zebra Studios.