DIFFA Dallas Celebrates 20 Years

The first DIFFA/Dallas jacket collection was held in 1989, at the Infomart. But 1993’s show at the Anatole was, without question, the most dramatic to date. That was the year when, 30 minutes before showtime, the roof of the ballroom collapsed due to a hailstorm (the show was rescheduled). Since then, the Dallas chapter of Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS has granted more than $4 million to AIDS service organizations in North Texas. As everyone knows, they do it by disorienting us with spectacular runway shows, lubricating our bidding elbows with cocktails, and then throwing us into a live auction. This year’s collection will celebrate DIFFA/Dallas’ 20th anniversary with a Utopia theme conceptualized by Brian Brothers, Rhonda Sargent Chambers, and co-chairs John Ahrens and Mark Stafford. Jacket designers include Abi Ferrin, Lela Rose, Bryan Long, Tory Burch, and many others (including Jason Weber from the Muppets Workshop and Desperate Housewives costume designer Cate Adair). The auction will include a two-week stay in a private home in Mallorca, Spain, a  golf outing with Tommy Armour, and a house for a week in Lexington, Kentucky, for the Derby. It all happens May 2. Go to diffadallas.org for more details.