The New York Botanical Garden kicked off the summer season with their delightful annual Conservatory Ball.
On Thursday, February 1st, celebrities assembled at the 8th annual Blue Jacket Fashion Show, sponsored by Zero Prostate Cancer, Johnson & Johnson, and the Fashion Group Foundation. Models for the night included actors, news hosts, current and former athletes, reporters and journalists—even two Tony winners.
(Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Blue Jacket Fashion Show)
The Blue Carpet Fashion show was founded by fashion designer Frederick Anderson as a platform to openly discuss prostate cancer. Throughout the day on Thursday, the Blue Jacket Initiative took to the streets to set up free testing and provide educational materials on prostate cancer across New York City. The organization is also raising funds for future prostate cancer testing resources and to support patients in need.
The event’s festivities began with a “blue carpet,” where the models of the night gave previews of what they would be wearing for the evening. Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award winning actor and singer Billy Porter was only on the blue carpet for mere seconds before rushing backstage to fetch his favorite piece of the outfit. He returned a moment later, accessorized with a Thom Brown bag.
Other special guests for the evening also assembled on the blue carpet, including journalist and talk show host Tamron Hall and actress Holly Robinson Peete.
All of the models for the evening soon took to the runway to strut their stuff in their blue ensembles. Every model who participated, and the designers who dressed them, were as followed:
Billy Porter, dressed by Thom Browne
J. Harrison Ghee, dressed by Terry Singh
Rodney Peete, dressed by The Privilege
Marcus Samuelsson, dressed by The Privilege
Wilson Cruz, dressed by Arjona Collection
Luis Miranda, Jr., dressed by Talya Bendel x HAAS
Don Lemon, dressed by The Privilege
Nigel Barker, dressed by Ben Sherman
Alex Lundqvist, dressed by Stephen F
Young Paris, dressed by Arjona Collection
Eric West, dressed by AARC55
Les Trent (Inside Edition), dressed by Don Morphy
James Aguiar (Modern Luxury), dressed by jameAstyle X Fleur’d
Carlos Greer (Page Six & Extra TV), dressed by AKNVAS
Frank DiLella (NY1), dressed by Bruno Magli
Louis Finley (NY1), dressed by Levi’s
Jeremy Helligar (People Magazine), dressed by Elie Balleh
John Dias (WCBS-TV), dressed by Gustavo Moscoso
John Hill (Sirius XM), dressed by Don Morphy
Ty Hunter, dressed by Tommy Hilfiger
Brian Ceballo, dressed by POTRO
Don Hood, dressed by Magpies & Peacocks
Ty-Ron Mayes, dressed by BARABAS
Omar Hernandez, dressed by Gustavo Moscoso
Kris Bennett, dressed by Burkindy x Jahnkoy
Erik Bottcher (NYC Council Member), dressed by Carlos Campos
Dr. Brad Schaeffer, dressed by Elie Balleh
Phillip Bloch, dressed by AKNVAS
Mike Woods (Fox5 New York), dressed by SOU KUU (by THE NORTH FACE)
Richard Thomas (TAO Hospitality Group), dressed by Gustavo Moscoso
Dr. Ash Tewari (Johnson & Johnson spokesperson), dressed by Elie Balleh
Tyrone Brewer (President, U.S. Oncology, Johnson & Johnson), dressed by J.Mclaughlin
Robert Ginyard (Prostate Cancer Survivor and Zero Prostate Cancer spokesperson), dressed by J.Mclaughlin
To learn more about the Blue Jacket Fashion Show, and to place a donation to help their patient support and awareness efforts, you can visit their website here.