Instead of holding a nighttime event to announce the women who would be honored at the annual Crystal Charity Ball Ten Best Dressed Fashion Show, it was decided to have it late morning on Wednesday, April 9, at NorthPark Center’s Neiman Marcus.
It was an unusually special occasion, since Neiman Marcus had become a part of Saks Global this past December. On hand for the day’s event was Saks Global President/Chief Commercial Officer Emily Essner.
Another VIP was 2025 Ten Best Dressed’s featured designer Brunello Cucinelli executive Patrice Grady-Erickson.
Before the first guests arrived, the Ten Best Dressed and Hall of Famer went through a dress rehearsal and gathered for a group photo.
As the honorees were sequestered backstage, the guests including husbands like Ben Lange, John Rocchio and Steve Solomon; Caroline Pratt Cohn, Kim Quinn, Anne McPherson, Sally Dutter, Christa Sanford, Ashley Allen, Libby Hegi, Cheryl Joyner, Beth Thoele, Diana Hamilton, Catherine Jaynes, Cara French, Lisa Shirley, Candace Winslow, Angie Kadesky, Andrea Cheek, Kristi Hoyl and NM executives Jodi Kahn and Mary McGreevy gathered before the program.
As soon as a photo of past Hall of Fame Honorees (Louise Griffeth, Peggy Sewell, Mary Clare Finney, Robyn Conlon and Lisa Cooley) was taken with 2025 CCB Chair Mary Martha Pickens and 2025 Fashion Show Chair Amy Hegi, the program got underway.
In recognizing the 50-year relationship with Neiman’s in hosting the fundraising fashion show, Mary Martha also noted Comerica Bank’s sponsoring the Platinum Dinner and JP Morgan Chase sponsoring the Fashion Show Patron Party in September. She then announced that former Hall of Famer Francie Moody-Dahlberg would be the 2025 Fashion Show And Luncheon honorary chair, making her only the seventh “outstanding leader in the fundraiser’s history to hold that position.”
She then introduced Emily, who eloquently acknowledged the CCB and NM tradition of working together for more than five decades and looking forward to the presentation of Cucinelli’s collection on the runway at the fashion show. Summing it up, Emily said, “Fashion is at its best, when it reflects both personal style and a greater purpose. And these women embody that so beautifully. Saks and Neiman Marcus are proud to be a part of the community that values both and we look forward to celebrating with you in September.”
Following Emily was NM VP/NorthPark General Manager Scott Mitchell, who introduced the 10 honorees (Jacquelin Sewell Atkinson, Julie Bagley, Shelby Goff, Shannon Graham, Tracey Kozmetsky, Tracy Lange, Wendy Messmann, Lisa Rocchio, Sunie Solomon and Katherine Wyker) and this year’s Hall of Famer Aileen Pratt.
Sidenote: When someone noted that it appeared that Katherine had gained a bit of weight, a friend smiled saying, “Well, I hope so. She’s due to have a little boy in May. Or, maybe I should say a big boy.”
As the honorees took their places in chairs at the front of the staging area, Amy introduced Patrice, who explained that Cucinelli had had “deep roots with both Neiman Marcus and Saks.” She briefly told how Cucinelli Founder 72-year-old Brunello Cucinelli had “founded it on a knitwear brand, but he decided to have a beautiful, sustainable product that he could pass down to his daughters and his granddaughters and grandsons. So he developed colored cashmere. And with that, he then developed this beautiful lifestyle collection which surrounds this room today, as well as the men’s collection and children’s. Brunello always says that when somebody is buying or wearing a piece of Brunello Cucinelli, they are custodians of the brand, because our profits and proceeds go back to not only ‘the hamlet, which is their beautiful Solomeo,’ which he’s restored, but also to charities that he is very close to.”
Stressing the family’s involvement with the brand, Patrice added, “Even though we are a big global business, we’re still very family owned and family run, and people are at the forefront of our business.”
In closing, she announced that Brunello’s daughter Executive Director/VP Carolina Cucinelli would be present for the fashion show and luncheon.
For faces and fashions of the day, check out MySweetCharity Photo Gallery.