Associated Press - September 29, 2009
Colleen Barry, Associated Press Writer

The charity event, held on the sidelines of Milan Fashion Week, attracted such fashion luminaries as Donatella Versace and model Linda Evangelista, as well as rapper and producer Kanye West.

Organizers say the event late Monday netted a total of $1.1 million (euro750,000) for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), a nonprofit organization that supports HIV/AIDS research.

The event included a charity dinner in a central Milan palace and continued into the early hours of Tuesday with French DJ Bob Sinclar serving his famous mixes on an upstairs dance floor.

"I'd just like to thank everyone here in the global fashion community who've done so much to help amfAR and to support HIV/AIDS research," Ms. Jackson told celebrity diners, who paid anywhere from euro1,500 to euro8,000 ($2,200 to $11,500) apiece to attend the dinner. "When this terrible pandemic began everyone ... who was infected died of AIDS. Today with your help millions of people are living with HIV."

She remembered the 5,000 who die of the disease every day.

Evangelista recalled the death of her first booking agent due to AIDS in the early days of the epidemic. "Those were desperate times for so many of us. I watched him die and helped bury him, not understanding any of it," Evangelista said. "The fashion industry was especially hard hit by AIDS."

But amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost celebrated the first "flicker of hope" that the AIDS epidemic may one day be contained, the news last week that a two-vaccine combination tested in Thailand had cut the risk of being infected with HIV by one-third. Researchers say the results are not good enough for immediate use, but the results were widely viewed in the AIDS prevention and research camps as a hopeful sign.

"That, my friends, is the power of research," Frost said. "So believe me when I tell you, there is a way out. We believe with the right investment, we can bring this epidemic to an end in our lifetime."

During the auction, Sudanese model Alex Wek helped stir interest in the Giuseppe Zanotti-designed boots that featured 3,000 multicolored Swarovski beads, which Jackson planned to wear on the opening night of his comeback.

"Growing up in southern Sudan, I did not know a lot of pop stars. But Michael did touch a lot of people," she said in tribute to the singer, who died in June before his much-anticipated comeback could begin.

A custom black leather jacket designed by the Canadian twin designers Dean and Dan Caten of the DSquared2 label set off a bidding war between rapper West and Diesel designer Renzo Rosso. Rosso prevailed with a bid of euro36,000 ($52,740), the highest price paid for any of the auctioned items.

Model Noemie Lenoir, who flew in from New York for the event, was supposed to auction off a chance to sail aboard the yacht "Born for Sports" as it attempts to break the trans-Mediterranean record from Marseilles to Carthage in Tunisia. Instead, she improvised an auction of an evening out in her company.

"Come on, cheap people, more money," she urged, as the bidding reached the winning level of euro11,000 ($16,115).

The yacht-racing experience later went for euro18,000 ($26,370). The auction - which among the other items included a Fendi bicycle with GPS and a leather-encased bike chain that earned euro16,000 ($23,440) and a private DJ lesson with Bob Sinclar that brought in euro28,000 ($41,000) - netted a total of euro155,000, or $228,000.

090929
AP090927

Copyright © 2009 - Associated Press. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the AP Permissions Desk.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Elton John AIDS Foundation, National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2009. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2009. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .