Donna Karan Honors Bill Clinton, Dr. Oz with Urban Zen Stephan Weiss Apple Awards
Keith Richards, Bill Clinton, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Ashton Kutcher, all under one roof? It could only be the work of Donna Karan.
The designer and wonder woman brought out a seriously A-list crowd to the Urban Zen Center at the Stephan Weiss Studio—even in a torrential downpour!—for the inauguration of the Urban Zen Stephan Weiss Apple Awards, which honored the aforementioned former president for Preservation of Culture, Dr. Mehmet Oz for Healthcare, and Courtney Ross, founder of the Ross Global Academy, for Education.
“I love Donna,” said Dr. Oz as he arrived at the Urban Zen Center. “Her whole organization is for people to connect with each other and understand where wellness could go in this country. They’re not worried that [wellness is like] some penitentiary: 40 years of good behavior to get five days down the road of life. You’re doing it today to feel better today, and that’s what we’re celebrating in here.” (Of course, even health guru Oz knows when to indulge; on his way into the event, he shared a box of chocolate with reporters on the event’s red carpet. Aw!)
Karan’s glamorous posse of supporters included editors Anna Wintour and Glenda Bailey, celebrities like Parker, Uma Thurman, and Demi Moore, and fashionable friends like Calvin Klein, Betsey Johnson, and Kenneth Cole, the latter of whom, as a fellow humanitarian, sang Karan’s praises.
“Donna has this boundless amount of energy and determination,” said Cole. “I love watching what she aspires to do and how much she, in effect, is able to do. She’s a role model for many. I only have the highest regard for her—what she does both professionally and personally.”
“It’s not only [about] dressing people, it’s addressing them,” Karan explained of her Apple Awards, which she plans to turn into an annual event. “Of the people that I dress, each one is a patient, each one is a loved one, each one has a child. I couldn’t just dress their outside, I had to address their issues at hand: what’s happening in education, what’s happening in health care.”
After a silent action and a few rounds of Veuve Clicquot, guests enjoyed dinner and the awards ceremony, which was then followed by a special performance by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari, singer Claudette Ortiz, and Wyclef Jean. Yep, only at Donna Karan’s.