Kim Kardashian West, Karlie Kloss, and Basically Everybody Else “Attended” the CR Runway Show with AmFAR Against COVID-19

In just a few weeks, the plan was to be back where we were last May—on the sunny esplanade of the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the South of France. But with social distancing measures still in place, AmFAR was prompted to get creative for its summer-kickoff gala and host an opulent fundraising gathering in the digital space.

Gathering digitally via YouTube livestream, AmFAR joined with Carine Roitfeld and CR Runway to assemble her arsenal of beautiful friends with last names like Kloss, Kerr, and Kardashian West to produce a fashion show from the comfort of their homes, cohosted by YouTube’s head of fashion and beauty, Derek Blasberg. On Friday afternoon, the world was invited to join in and help fundraise for COVID-19 relief.

“It’s the first time I’ve gone to a fashion show not wearing any pants,” Blasberg quipped at the show’s start, promptly at 4 p.m. New York time—a perfectly decadent hour to pour my first glass of Champagne. And while I had been tempted to take in the show wearing my skivvies too, I opted instead to wear my tuxedo jacket from last year’s AmFAR Cannes gala, a weighty emerald velvet number still in its dry-cleaning plastic. As I shifted the shoulders and adjusted my bow tie, I felt as if I were unearthing an old book that hadn’t been touched in years. But mundane theatrics like this—in a tuxedo, drinking Champagne at 4 p.m. on a Friday in the name of charity—have been my light spots during these dark days.

With the Veuve Clicquot on ice and the Wi-Fi signal strong, the show began with a slew of well-wishes from those who would not be walking the digital runway. Diane von Furstenberg’s message, recorded via iPhone (and in French, no less), felt like a pep talk from a friend, along with many, many of her fellow designers including Alexander Wang, Riccardo Tisci, Fernando Garcia, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Heron Preston, Brandon Maxwell, Richard Quinn, Silvia Venturini Fendi, Peter Dundas, Simon Porte Jacquemus, Olivier Rousteing, Virgil Abloh, and Maria Grazia Chiuri. “Only together can we build a new future,” Chiuri told us. “Stay creative, stay positive.”

Just like any other fashion spectacle, this one had all of the preshow trappings. Hair instructions came from Sam McKnight in his backyard; beauty directives to create a smoky eye and a nude lip were led by Tom Pecheux; and movement coach Stephen Galloway, wearing a flowing kimono and sashaying through his living room, advised the models—and viewers too—on how to stride full of turns and exaggerated poses. “You’ve got to sell it, ladies,” he said through laughs. “Make them feel the fabric!”