On Wednesday night, as Hillary Clinton advocated for women’s rights in the third presidential debate, the Boys’ Club of New York made an equally compelling case for creating opportunities for young men. The 68th Annual Fall Dance, hosted in partnership with Christian Dior, raised more than $1.16 million in funds benefiting the nonprofit organization. “This evening promises to be far more elegant than the presidential debate—I can promise you that,” cochair Amy Griffin said in her speech. And, in turn, guests delivered black-tie glamour at its best. “Everyone looks amazingly gorgeous, and I’m so happy to see so many beautiful Dior dresses tonight,” said president of Christian Dior North America, Renaud de Lesquen. “The fact that it’s a group of women also makes it very special.” Such women included Gucci Westman, Chiara Ferragamo, Jessica Hart, and cochair Lauren Santo Domingo, who wore a sleeveless Dior column gown in a winning spin on lady-in-red style.
Bronson van Wyck’s deft hand with decor struck a similarly pitch-perfect chord with the group of philanthropists. The event planner of the moment transformed the space with dozens of pillar candles in glass cylinders, which lined the walls leading up to the main ballroom. Dinner tables featured topiaries in the shape of a Lady Dior handbag that not only served as chic centerpieces but proved perfect Instagram fodder (#BCNYDesigns). Perhaps the most compelling talking point of the evening came when BCNY alumnus Sebastian De La Cruz delivered a moving speech in which he credited the nonprofit in shaping his future, including a December 2016 degree from Cornell University. “I am looking for a job—and I have résumés with me,” he joked. While De La Cruz explained he has plans to pursue a career in medical communications, if he were to consider fashion, De Lesquen offered this advice: “For an interview at Dior, I would advise to be very sartorial, elegant, simple, and minimalist,” he said. “But most important, chic.”
