Bay Area Reporter - September 28, 2006
Zak Szymanski, z.symanski@ebar.com

Last week marked the 24th annual fashion and food feast to raise money for HIV/AIDS organizations, and those in the know said "Say It," this year's VIP showcase event last Thursday, September 21, outdid all the recent years. Held at San Francisco's Fort Mason, the venue alone was something to write home about: guests began in the vast former military hall of Herbst Pavilion, surrounded by free samples of Dungeness crab and hors d'oeuvres from local taste greats, mod-era movie footage of airline runways, and Jetsons-style go-go dancers on pedestals who used their glow-sticks as air traffic controls. When a loudspeaker announced the "final boarding call for Macy's Passport," hundreds of people filed out the doors, past the ship-packed water and into the Festival Pavilion, where security asked all passengers to have their "boarding passes out."

The stage show began with an auction hosted by Seinfeld and Dancing with the Stars star John O'Hurley, who auctioned off everything from diamond jewelry to a chance to help Project Open Hand feed hundreds of people. At one point O'Hurley invigorated the crowd by inciting a "blue collar versus white collar" fight between two men bidding on a Carlos Santana vacation package and autographed guitar. A woman sitting behind them ultimately snagged the prize, for $4,500. Another auction featured an appearance by the kids of Oakland Children's Hospital and was for "nothing in return, except what you feel in your heart," noted O'Hurley. Several people committed to the opening $2,000 bid to help care for children in need.

Then it was runway time.

The mood was instantly electric as models for Sean John's hipster hip-hop collection shot out of three separate stage entrances against a backdrop of James Bond sound effects and detective-style movie footage. Cream-colored puffy anoraks and whiskered resin-coated denim looked stunning in front of a pyrotechnic flame show.

Hugo Boss's "Harlem Nights" theme featured old burlesque footage playing in the background, while men in window-paned rust-toned suits prowled the catwalk. Jockey-style coats and riding pants by designers like Ralph Lauren were accompanied by an actual horse.

Chilrden and young adults brought down the house with a rapid fusion of sharply synchronized breaking/boy band steps, choreographed by Brian Friedman and enhanced by the audio-visuals of VJ Culture. The new Justin Timberlake song "Sexy Back" boomed as they wriggled.

The design team Heatherette presented bright graphic fashions that made their models look like candy and cake. The underwear company 2xist made people hot and bothered with its "Moroccan Heat" show, complete with lanterns in the sky and shirtless men in bulging melon-colored briefs. For the Mac Viva Glam segment, Italian tenor Vittorio sang to ladies in red as it rained rose petals and the carriage of a woman's dress seemed to bloom with each step.

Intermittently, featured speakers would remind the crowd why the event was necessary. Priscilla Presley spoke about the Southern California-based Dream Foundation, the only national wish-granting agency for dying adults. Macy's CEO Robert Mettler spoke about the history of the event, and noted that just days before, youth from around the Bay Area were treated to the same fashion show as well as an HIV education event where they "learned about HIV/AIDS and what they can do to keep themselves safe."

The "Teen Night" portion of Macy's Passport was the subject of controversy last week when representatives from Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center alleged that the LGBTQ youth content they submitted to the event for HIV education was excluded; Macy's representatives maintained that the exclusions only targeted LYRIC's explicitly graphic content and that the group was asked to continue to participate. LYRIC was still awarded $5,000 after its departure but was not a full beneficiary; youth program beneficiaries included Huckleberry Youth Programs; Larkin Street Youth Services; and San Francisco Unified School District's health programs.

Overall, the Passport events - held in Los Angeles and San Francisco - have been raising more than $1 million each year, with a total of more than $24 million raised for local HIV/AIDS and community-based organizations. Local beneficiaries of this year's Macy's Passport include the AIDS Research Institute at UCSF; Children's Hospital of Oakland; Positive Resource Center; Project Open Hand; Stop AIDS Project; and San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.

The Los Angeles Passport show takes place this week, after which funds will be tallied and distributed to beneficiaries.

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