New York City-based fashion designer Carmen Marc Valvo celebrated his company’s 25th anniversary with fans in San Francisco by presenting his spring 2015 collection at a benefit event for the Bay Area Arthritis Auxiliary on October 1, 2014. Some 480 supporters attended the lunch and runway show at the Fairmont Hotel and helped raise $275,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. $28,000 came from heated bidding for an auction package that included runway seats at the Carmen Marc Valvo Fall 2015 runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, scheduled for February 2015.
On the runway was an array of polished evening dresses, gowns and ensembles with retro silhouettes, as well as Valvo’s first menswear and fine jewelry collections. One special dress made its début, a cornflower blue silk designed by Valvo for 15-year old Brooke Christian, the Bay Area Arthritis Auxiliary’s 2014 Youth Honoree. “I am honored to present my collection for the Bay Area Arthritis Auxiliary’s benefit this year. We are raising not only vital funds, but also awareness about arthritis and juvenile arthritis through this event,” Valvo said. “It is so important for people such as Brooke Christian to share their stories. The Bay Area Arthritis Auxiliary is making it fashionable to eradicate this illness and that is clear by the response today. My thanks to everyone involved.”
Photos by Drew Altizer Photography
