By Brett Graff
Oscar de la Renta at the Sur Futuro Foundation's
annual luncheon at the Hotel Intercontinental
Photo by Manny Hernandez
Famed fashion designer Oscar de la Renta lured a large and luxurious crowd to Miami’s Hotel Intercontinental with a fashion show and personal appearance to benefit Sur Futuro Foundation, an organization that fights poverty in the Dominican Republic.
Guests – who included Toby Ansin, Elysze Held, Ana Somarriba, Yolanda Berkowitz, Jennifer Valoppi, Swanee DiMare, Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard, Trish Bell and many more - were invited to sip Rum Brugal cocktails and enjoy filet mignon as they were dazzled by the designer’s 2011 pre-fall collection. His creations came in bold oranges, bright greens, shell pinks and magical blacks, each one igniting gasps throughout the crowd and a standing ovation after the finale.
“Oscar de la Renta’s clothes are classics — not disposable fashion,” says Giselle Remos, who arrived in a Town Car and headed up a table of 10 style-setters. “You can keep them in your closet for ages. But besides being a great designer, he supports humanitarian causes.”
In addition to lending his collections and his time, Mr. de la Renta donated a $10,000 gift certificate to his Bal Harbour boutique, which was raffled off and won by Maria Cruz Waterhouse and Luz Estella Hulzet.
Meanwhile, corporate sponsor Cartier conducted a drawing for the Cartier La Dona ladies watch, which went to Liliam Kamley. While community collaborator Tortuga Bay donated a five-day stay at their Dominican Republic property, handing the vacation over to a very lucky Laura Pimentel.