DIFFA Dallas Dramatically Different

Saturday night was swinging as Dallas’ most stylish (and outlandish) gathered at the Hilton Anatole in support of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA).  The organizers of this year’s event decided that it was time to shake things up, so the theme for this year’s soiree was, quite literally, “Dramatically Different”.

Why change a format that’s worked for 20 years? Well, for one thing, the “I” in DIFFA represents a plural word: Industries. It’s not just about clothes. In years past, the event primarily revolved around a fashion show of denim jackets elaborately redesigned by local and national designers.  This year, guests like Gregg Asher, David Martin, D’Andra Simmons, Brian Bolke, Ana Pettus, Gina Ginsburg, and Daniel Winson Lewis enjoyed a speech by the winsome Mark Stafford, DIFFA Board of Trustee Chairman (who lost his notes before getting on stage and still managed to make the crowd crow!), and a delish dinner and auction – made more lively by models strutting their wares, people jumping out of their seats to bid, and plenty of laughter. The party transitioned into an over the top event with VIP Designer Salons, dessert stations, dancing, fashion presentations, and stage productions (our favorite – a drag queen transforming from elaborate stage performer back to man!).

Another big change was the show’s Creative Director – from 2001 to 2009, Rhonda Sargent Chambers executed this massive undertaking, along with Brian Brothers of Planet Productions.  Brothers was still on the scene, but this year’s new Co-Creative Director, Jan Strimple, took over. She shared her plan for this year’s event with PinkMemo: “I have a lot of fun with what I call a ‘take no prisoners attitude’ towards designing the fashion components:  kill them with glamour, seduce them with beauty, rock it out with the unexpected and leave ‘em begging for more!”

DIFFA’s mission is to raise money and grant those funds to organizations which fight HIV/AIDS by providing preventative education programs targeted to populations at risk of infection, treatment and direct care services for people living with/impacted by HIV/AIDS and that support public policy initiatives which add resources to private sector funds.

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