Aimee Mullins and Rupert Friend Hosted a Benefit Dinner for The Sarabande Foundation

As a teenager, having lived most of her life as a double amputee, Aimee Mullins envisioned someday co-creating a pair of prosthetic legs that were beautiful and inspiring to look at—not like the clunky wooden and rubber unisex ones she’d been forced to accept. “The first person who ever took me up on it was Lee McQueen,” the actress, model, and Paralympian told those gathered atop The Standard, East Village, for this year’s Sarabande Foundation dinner.

Mullins spoke about how an “amazing letter and press kit” had arrived, ahead of McQueen guest editing Dazed September 1998 issue. Mullins would go on to grace the publication’s now-seminal ‘Fashion-able’ cover, and for the designer’s Spring Summer 1999 ‘No. 13’ show, walk the runway in what she fondly recalls as her “party legs.” Like many things McQueen created, they’ve been marveled at in museums including The V&A and The Met, ever since.

“They are spectacular, and they are beautiful,” Mullins said. “And they helped truly change a conversation around a medical device that was always seen as a symbol of loss, and something morose and, in fact, made it an object of art and beauty.”

Putting meaning, substance, and beauty at the forefront of fashion and art by supporting creatives is integral to Sarabande s modus operandi. The Foundation was established by the late English designer in 2006—and named for his Spring Summer 2007 collection—to bring about more equal opportunities for entry to the arts. (McQueen, the son of a cabbie and a school teacher, was put through Central Saint Martins thanks to the support of his aunt.) Ensuring financial barriers wouldn’t derail an aspiring artist or designer’s future was of the utmost importance, and after his death in 2010, he left the majority of his personal estate to allow Sarabande to flourish. To date, the charitable organzation has changed the trajectories of more than 200 individuals through over £1.5 million in scholarships, mentoring, and heavily-subsidized studio space.

A day prior to the ‘Woven’ fundraising dinner hosted by Mullins and her husband, British actor Rupert Friend, The Standard, East Village also played backdrop to Sarabande’s ‘What Now?’ initiative. The day-long event saw 90 industry professionals from luxury labels, media companies, and creative agencies meet with 250 students and graduates to offer invaluable career advice as they figure out their next steps.

Understandably, longtime program director Trino Verkade (McQueen’s first-ever employee, and CEO at Sarabande since 2017) was “shattered” and losing her voice, having helped facilitate over 1,000 interviews for 250 participants. “We’re fortunate enough to find the most amazing creatives who think outside the box,” she said of Sarabande. “We are not an arts foundation or a fashion foundation. We look at everyone as an individual, so if you’re just crazy enough to make what you do and put your heart and soul into it, then we want to get behind you.”

The two tablescapes in the hotel’s penthouse area were based on the work of artist-to-watch and award-winning Sarabande participant George Richardson, who was also in attendance. Guests, including Daniel Roseberry, Adam Selman, Sandy Powell, Rickie de Sole, Denisa Palsha, Nancy Chilton, and Tara Carroll, enjoyed a family-style feast against a pool table-inspired setup with Richardson’s brass-cast snooker chalks and playing card-inspired accouterments, underneath a canopy that had been created using fabrics from the McQueen archive.

As a parting gift, and in what’s becoming a Sarabande dinner tradition, they each took home limited-edition plates featuring drawings by McQueen, Roseberry, Tim Burton, Sir Ridley Scott, Jake Chapman, and program president Francesca Amfitheatrof.

Speaking of tradition, during the raffle—which included prizes like a private tour of the new Costume Institute exhibit with Andrew Bolton and original artwork by Richardson—one lucky guest also took home a marmite and cheese toastie—"Lee’s favorite,” Trino told the puzzled recipient. “That’s what started it all!”