Fashion Cares, an event to raise money for HIV/AIDS research, awareness and patient care takes a horrific turn this Halloween, transmorgified into Fashion SCares. Leave it to the fashion and gay communities to transform the sterile Toronto Convention Center into a masquerading orgy of fun. While some people (who will remain nameless!) do NOT dress up for the event, many partiers sport costumes that rival the gorgeous display of designs on the runway. (In one of the more bizarre aspects of the evening, designers were not identified with their clothes).

Dressed as “The Swan Who Gets Killed in the First Act of Swan Lake” (shown left with Carolee Custus), I’m delighted to discover the National Ballet is among the evening’s performers. Stripped down to their whites, they pirouette across boundaries between classical and downright raunchy dance with playful, orgiastic mastery. Various performers do their best to rock the fashion crowd, yet highbrows (some at $10,000 tables), and the plebs standing in bone crushing heels, remain subdued. What does it take Toronto?!

It takes a Diva dressed in a glittering yellow bata de cola dress, draped with a sun-yellow fur-trimmed cape that makes Liberace look like he shopped at the Gap. It takes a 72 year old Diva with a body that makes me look like a candidate for Type 2 diabetes. Oh yes – Dame Shirley Bassey flies from England to make a gala appearance at Fashion SCares. Before she is through the second chorus of her classic “Goldfinger” roses start flying through the air like American rockets in Kabul. By the end of her performance the stage is red with them. Even the Ladies Who Lunch are dancing on their Pradas, and gay and straight men alike are drooling enthusiastically.

Photo of Fritz Helder and The Phantoms by Tommy Ton @ jakandjil.com

While it is a night to party, revelers are reminded the epidemic is still in full swing. More children are orphaned by AIDS in Africa than children in the USA are in school. Here’s to Fashion SCares for all their great work in fighting this disease! And remember – whatever the season, condoms are always in style – perhaps the only accessory we really can’t live without. Check out the Condom Shack on Queen for excellent service and a range of latex-free condoms.

It took A LOT of people behind the scenes to transform the giant Convention Centre into a gala-worthy themed-scene. For interviews, check out Carolyn’s TFI blog with words by Manny Machado, Decor Designer and others.

Tags: Fashion Cares, Halloween, LizaZ