MAC Viva Glam: Fashion Cares

Viva what? Glam is right. On Saturday night hundreds of people crowded into the Metro Toronto Convention Centre to support the fight against AIDS at Fashion Cares' 20th anniversary event. Fashion Cares has raised $75 million to date. In the past 18 months, Canadian diva Pamela Anderson has been a spokesperson for the cause, raising $20 million.

My overall impression of Fashion Cares was a positive one. The performances and entertainers were fantastic. I was slightly disappointed with the lack of creativity in the area of theatrical innovations with fashion, hair and make-up sequences. That said, it was a wonderful evening and Fashion Cares supports a great cause and makes such a difference that if you have never been, you should definately try to make it next year.

Pictured above: Pamela Anderson with Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2.

Everyone dressed up in their best duds. There were plenty of fantastic suits and glamorous cocktail dresses. Before the event even started, all of the participants felt like they were Hollywood starlets walking the red carpet. At every turn of the way there were performers like jazz musicians, outfits on display, items to bid on, dancers, long-stem roses placed throughout the venue, and extravagant costumes.

Half an hour before the show, media were invited to take some pictures of the celebrities at the event including Pamela Anderson who wore a stellar red sexy dress that Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared2 made for her to wear.

Pamela greeted the audience with her cute voice and girly personality. She kicked off the event off by saying, "I like rubber and I like to play it safe." Divine Brown sang "Old Skool Love". She wore a sexy gold dress, accessorized with a thick red belt. There was the MAC circus, with acrobats and stilt walkers. The black and white pinstripes and checks made the circus costumes a combination of jailbird meets Alice and Wonderland. This act was followed by highly sexualized soldier boys who had a naughty candy-striper feel, carrying old western ropes.

The highlight of the evening for me was The Philosopher Kings singing "Castles in the Sand". My heart nearly melted. The National Ballet of Canada was outstanding and the cute ballet boys stayed on stage and pretended to ogle over the pretty models that came out after their performance. One of the best fashion sections of the evening was a Garden of Eden look where the models wore neutral and pastel colours in very flowing garments, with some innovative and abstract images interwoven into these soft and delicate outfits.

Other performers of the evening included Jody Watley, The Blue Man Group, Jennifer Holliday, DJ Summation, jojoflores, and the MOMIX dancers. The evening was fantastic and I really had a blast. The most important thing is that fashion really does care. Together we can come together and really make a difference. All proceeds go ACT (AIDS Committee of Toronto).