Dress code was strictly “Black Tie Fierce.”  I could hardly anticipate what that meant and fretted over all my dresses, and sure enough, all guests were dressed to the nines.  Men were in suites or tuxes, but women ranged from long elegant ball gowns to short cocktail dresses, and even a few daring pantsuits. 

While the dinner and show was getting set up, everyone mingled during the cocktail hour, sipping mainly on champagne or the evening’s specialty cocktail, The Silk Webb, comprised of a bit of Hennesey, pomegranate juice and Chambord, topped with Moet Champagne and garnished with a vanilla bean stalk. 

The event was hosted by the founders of Seven Bar Foundation, Renata Black and Kim Hoedeman, with special guest Sofía Vergara from the hit show Modern Family.

Many of the supermodels from Lingerie Miami returnedto the catwalk including: Crystal Renn, Veronica Webb, and Elsa Benita.  Additionally, Michelle Rodriguez was spinning the music for the event (who knew she moonlighted as a DJ?!). 

The first runway show was by Carine Gilson, renowed in France for her graceful silk and lace designs.  She is celebrating her 20-year anniversary and brought everyone’s attention to the runway during the presentation.

As an interlude between the two lingerie shows, there was a performance of aerial acrobatics on fabric!  It was quite marvelous and breathtaking to watch the lovely gymnasts grace the sky above. 

The show went on simultaneously during our dinner where Cipriani’s had prepared for all the guests a salad with feta to start, followed by the main course of steak.  From a distance, the cut of steak looked rather small , but by the time they plopped it on my plate, it was about 3-1/2 inches in height, and cooked to a perfect medium rareness. 

Dinner ended with a lovely assortment of sorbets and fresh berries in a chocolate bowl.

Atsuko Kudo made her first US appearance at this event through Lingerie New York, and is considered by Karl Lagerfeld, Charlotte Stockdale and Steven Meisel as the one to watch.  Atsuko Kudo’s latex-inspired lingerie is said to be worn by Eva Mendez, Beyonce and Lady GaGa. 

Speaking of The Gaga, after the show the mingling and the drinking continued with shot girls donning the Lady Gaga-esque outfits and hair giving out tasty shooters of Hennesey.

We talked with an “insider” from Agent Provocateur in close cahoots with the event.  Normally based in Miami, she was in New York for the show but was soon headed to Barbados for the grand opening of a brand new Agent Provocateur store.  Rumor has it that next year the fashion show will take place in Los Angeles, and then perhaps after that jump ship across the Atlantic to Paris, so you better keep up. 

With ticket prices starting at $1,250 for the Lingerie New York show this year, it ain’t a cheap date –  but keep in mind that it all goes to a great cause.  Read more about the Seven Bar Foundation below, and check out the rest of the photos in our gallery.

About Seven Bar Foundation

Seven Bar Foundation is a third-generation family involved in general aviation, real estate development and investments established in New Mexico 60 years ago. Seven Bar and the Black family established the Seven Bar Foundation in 2001, a 501(c)(3), with activities in eight states, contributing to community development projects in each.

Seven Bar Foundation is a business model for social impact. It is the brand for microfinance with its pink bars in the logo representing a “ladder” – an exit strategy out of poverty for women. Seven Bar Foundation’s philanthropic brand fuels its microfinance fund on a consistent basis. Lingerie Miami, New York, Los Angeles and 15 other cities serve as a platform for the Seven Bar Foundation brand to reach a critical mass of consciousness. These top couture and luxury lingerie shows allow the brand to provide consistent revenue streams through fashion shows, co-branded products, microfinance investment and video streaming technology.

Besides providing consistent funding to microfinance, the Foundation’s overlying goal is to create a blueprint for other non-profits to shift away from the traditional, dependent fundraising model, to a self-sustainable model.

This model was developed by Director Renata M. Black and is being spearheaded by Renata and Kim Hoedeman.