Sixth Annual Fresh Faces Of Fashions Had Its Fans, Friends And Families For Suicide And Crisis Center Of North Texas

With every new crop of Fresh Faces of Fashion, there’s a new tempo and flavor. Last year blondes and legs proved to be the majority rule. In 2012 it was variety. From blondes to brunettes, from short to tall, from non-stop curls to straight as your first-grade teacher’s ruler, the class of 2012 hardly showed a sign of similarity.

The sixth annual Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas fundraiser kicked off at Stanley Korshak with a reception on the ground level and a fashion parade on the top level. All the floors were buzzing with family and friends anticipating the presentation of this year’s groups of gals — Bailey Coon, Caroline Cooper, Samantha Davies, Grace Davis, Amy Wells Havins, Allison Wiley Lent, Katy Messersmith, Carla Miller, Kaylyn Montgomery, Lauren Parsons, Lynsey Wiley Provost and Krystal Schlegel.

Only thing missing was Korshak main man Crawford Brock, who out of town.

Unlike last year when the hot spotlights caused front-row types to glisten, someone pushed the AC way down so it was nice and cool to view the fashion and the FFF’s in Nha Khanh‘s fall fashions that were highlighted with lots of yellows, blacks and zippers all the way up the back.

Another change was last year’s L-shaped runway; organizers decided to have a straight layout cutting the length of the walk in half.

FFF/NBC5 meteorologist Samantha was probably relieved at the shortened catwalk admitting that she was “scared and nervous.” No need. The itty-bitty cutie who is also a Celebrity Waiter for the April 21 dinner managed just fine in a bright green silk cocktail dress.

As each lass was announced, pockets of fans and friends cheered from various parts of the room: Dee Wyly‘s family for Carla Miller (her mom Martha Miller was in California but Dee and daughter Emily Wyly made up for the MIA mom), Faye Briggs‘ posse (son Michael Montgomery and wife Vinette cheering on daughter Kaylyn), the Schlegel entourage with parents Bob and Myrna and daughters Kim Schlegel Whitman and Kari Schelgel Kloewer with husbands for sister Krystal, to name just a minuscule few.

In addition to having “fresh faces,” the dozen also are challenged to raise funds via a raffle for the Suicide and Crisis Center. Talk about double dipping! The fashion show and dinner are held one night and the raffle is held on May 23 at Park Place.

In addition to the FFF’s, professional models proved their stuff despite platform heels causing some of them to clomp along in some cases. On the other hand, how do you mess up Fendi, Cavalli, Alice + Olivia, Christian Cota, Lyn Devon, Missoni, Lela Rose, Siriano, Marc Jacobs, Rachel Zoe, Etro, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Prabal Gurung, Lanvin, Sachin + Babi, Marchesa, Pringle of Scotland, Zadig & Voltaire, Karolina Zmarlak, Michael Kors, Brunello Cucinhelli, Kaufman Franco, Giambattista Valli, Naeen Khan and the Calvin Klein Collection?

Oh, and did we mention that sheer is here? One gent in the audience nudged the guests next to him saying, “All the dresses are probably terribly expensive, but they save money on the underwear.” Men have such a way with words when it comes to understanding fashion.

Following the show, as guests were making their way to dinner at the Crescent Court, one fellow suffered a balancing challenge. No, he wasn’t wearing platforms as he nearly toppled into a lady’s lap setting off a chain reaction. No harm done. Just embarrassed apologies.

One of the showstoppers of the evening. . . and he knew it. . . was Alexandre Proia. Tall, all in white with black and silver hair, he walked and eyes followed. But shoot! He should be used to it. From his days with the New York City Ballet, he knew how to make a stroll into a mega-watts strut. At his side was Jacqueline Porter.

FFF alumna Anna- Sophia van Zweden had to leave dinner early due to a date. . . Shane Walker‘s vintage Versace suit of green and white floral prints not only matched his centerpieces, it was the result of collaboration with event planner Steve Kemble.

Seems Steve was at Shane’s place one day, saw the pants and later showed up with the matching jacket. . . Vinette and Michael were chuckling about Carolyn Lupton’s comment. Seems the Montgomerys are building a new home across the way from the Dallas Country Club. Of course, it’s taking a bit longer than planned. And, of course, the construction is creating some congestion on the street. The ever-thoughtful Montgomerys each month have gifts delivered to the inconvenienced neighbors. Carolyn said she hoped they never finish the house. It seems all the neighbors look forward to their monthly presents. Mike chuckled that they were really going to like the next delivery. Talk about being a good neighbor!

As for the evening’s speakers, Event Co-chair Yvonne Crum told the crowd that included present and past FFF’s including Marisa Huckin and Jennifer Lott that in the past five years the FFF’s have raised more than $1M for the Suicide & Crisis Center.

It was then time for the guest speaker, Roy Jackson, who lost his son Brandt, who “came into the world smiling” in 1985. Despite being a horrible driver, Brandt “wanted to be president . . . he just didn’t know of what. He once wrote a paper about his hero — me. Funny thing was, he was my hero.”

It was during a trip to Vegas in March 2007 that Roy received a call from the Mesquite police department. Having received calls from the police before about Brandt’s shenanigans, Roy answered, “What has he done now?!”

The voice on the other end of the line said, “Mr. Jackson, your son took his own life last night.”

Roy admitted that he would not accept the reality and didn’t think anyone got what he was going through until he was on the phone with the Crisis Center. “Finally, somebody gets it.” Two months after Brandt’s death he walked through the Center’s doors and for the “first time I felt safe. It was the first place I realized I was not alone. . . At first, group was like a horror movie. I went back at least four times to say good-bye.”

Roy finished his talk saying, “Bringing the subject out of the closet is the only hope for us.” Then he added that he would do anything for the Suicide and Crisis Center and its executive director, Margie Wright. . . “doing this [speech] proves it.”

Brandt’s hero came through Friday night.