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F R O M D E N I M TO S M O K I N G : C E L E B R AT I N G 2 5 Y E A R S O F D I F FA DA L L A S ' O U T R A G E O U S LY D E C K E D - O U T J A C K E T S A N D L AV I S H R U N WAY S P E C TA C L E S "LOOKING BACK, I AM GRATEFUL FOR THOSE WHO IN 1984 HAD THE COURAGE TO ESTABLISH DIFFA/DALLAS, AND FOR DECADES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GENEROUS WITH THEIR TIME, TALENT AND MONETARY SUPPORT." — Clint Bradley, board chair BY REBECCA SHERMAN I n 1988, costume designer John Ahrens received a phone call asking him to design a dress for a fund-raiser for the local chapter of DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). "I had never heard of them," Ahrens recalls. He might not have been familiar with the organization (the Dallas chapter had been founded in 1984), but he was all too familiar with the disease it benefitted. "It was during what I call the Dark Times, when my friends were dying, and we were all terrified," he says. "So I thought, 'Why not put to use what I do for a living?' I said yes." Other local designers such as Victor Costa, Michael Ballas and former husband- and-wife team Donna and Michael Faircloth made gowns and cocktail dresses for the event, which included a fashion show and auction, held at the Anatole hotel's hot new nightclub, Mistral. The event drew fewer than 150 people, and almost none of the clothes sold, Donna recalls. "If you donate dresses that only look good on 5' 9" size 2 models," she says, "it's not what nice Texas ladies can buy. That was the conundrum." The next year, when another request was made to donate dresses, Donna sought a better way to raise funds. "It didn't make sense to donate another item, but it made sense to talk about what we were doing, to evaluate a better process," she says. Gathered inside event chairman David Davis' apartment with DIFFA co-founder and executive director Stephen Burrus and a handful of others, Kim Dawson model Jan Strimple remembers that Donna tossed out the idea of one-size-fits-all denim jackets. "Women's Wear Daily had done an article on an event that Barneys hosted in New York, with a picture of Madonna wearing a denim jacket she'd designed herself," says Strimple, who has CATWALK FOR A CURE chaired by Ken Boyd* and Stephen Burrus*; held at Mistral nightclub at the Anatole hotel; fashion show of gowns created by local designers Jan Barboglio, Michael Ballas, Victor Costa, Christopher Fallon and Michael Faircloth. Debut of the denim jackets collection, with 123 jackets donated by Levi Strauss & Co.; chaired by David C. Davis and Donna Faircloth; held at the Dallas Infomart and produced by Duane Jeffers; Neiman Marcus asked international designers to embellish and create one-of-a-kind jackets to be auctioned off; designers included Christian Lacroix, Victor Costa, Gianni Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, Bob Mackie, Oscar de la Renta, Jean Paul Gaultier and Donna Karan. Theme: "The Dallas Collection," chaired by Karen Muncy; denim jacket auction; designer Bob Mackie in attendance. chaired by Stephen Burrus*, Jody Clarke and Bonnie Goldberg. 1988 1989 1991 DIFFA/DALLAS FUND-RAISER, 1990 1992 1994 1993 chaired by Barbara Buzzell, Greg Cassell*, Jody Clarke, Candace Krause, Jeanne Milligan and Karen Muncy; honorary chair Kim Dawson. Levi Strauss & Co. and Neiman Marcus continued the theme of the Dallas Collection; chaired by Nancy Lundgren, Terry Lundgren and George Potter; held at the Hilton Anatole Hotel; theater legend Tommy Tune attended. continued on page 4 123 JACKETS DONATED Theme: "THE DALLAS COLLECTION 1992," Theme: "SOMETHING NEW FROM OUT OF THE BLUE," HOUSE OF DIFFA Timeline From left: Jennifer Patterson Clark, Shayne Robinson, Ralph Randall, Jody Stein, Scott Kehn, Debra Nelson, Norma Johnson, Patrick Ware, Jenna Alexander. PHOTO SCOT AND KRISTI REDMAN