AmfAR Celebrates Karl Lagerfeld & David Bowie At “Heroes” Fashion Show

The annual Cannes amfAR catwalk show was in danger of being upstaged by the launch of H&M’s collaboration with Giambattista Valli. Five muses – Kendall Jenner, Chiara Ferragni, Bianca Brandolini, Chris Lee (Li Yuchun), H.E.R., and Ross Lynch – debuted five frothy red-carpet ready designs from the edit, which will go on sale to the masses on May 25, and infiltrated Instagram feeds the world over. Carine Roitfeld, who has been curating the gala fashion for seven years, was unperturbed. This year’s rock’n’roll-themed show, entitled “We Can Be Heroes”, was dedicated to two icons of hers: David Bowie and Karl Lagerfeld.

“Karl was always involved in the event, always attending, joining my table and making sure that any brand he was involved with, whether Chanel or Fendi, was always a big partner in the show and donated clothes,” said Roitfeld. “He can’t be with us this evening, but I think he would like what we’ve done because he was also a big fan of David Bowie.”

As well as securing new brand support for the gala – 2019 is the first time Hedi Slimane has been involved in the charity event – Roitfeld, who was dressed in Celine, enlisted fresh model talent. Alton Mason, the Jamaican-Ghanaian model who shot to fame after Virgil Abloh booked him to walk Louis Vuitton’s autumn/winter 2019 show, was signed up “because he’s got great energy and can dance with the girls.”

Others, including Winnie Harlow and Stella Maxwell, walked the runway wearing sequin-strewn pieces from Givenchy, Alexandre Vauthier and Tommy Hilfiger. “We’re not here just to have fun, we’re here as a collective with the goal to raise a million. Fashion cares,” Harlow said as the presentation drew to a close and the auction began. The largest donation during the evening – which was interjected by performances from Mariah Carey, Dua Lipa (who gave good gown in Valentino) and The Struts – was £882,000.

“AmfAR is the golden ticket, the place to pull out the show stoppers,” photographer Ellen von Unwerth said as Roitfeld succeeded at raising funds for the Foundation for AIDS Research yet again.