The Westin St. Francis Hotel famously accents Union Square’s West side, with glowing glass elevators, landmark charm and notable cuisine, languishing cooly in the wind of San Francisco. Last week, however, it became as hot as New York’s Bryant Park in the summer for the 29th San Francisco Ballet Auxiliary Fashion Show.

Heralded as one of the best fashion shows taking place most years in San Francisco and shining with some of the city’s brightest stars, the signature spring Auxiliary event this year switched to an evening cocktails show, with dinner following, as opposed to previous years where it had been a sit-down luncheon.

As in recent years past, the show partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue and selected one designer to showcase his fall collection. “Saks Fifth Avenue has been a fabulous partner to the SF Ballet Auxiliary since 1995, the year I Chaired the Fashion Show,” said Layne Gray, Vivanista’s founder and CEO. After years of working with the ballet, they put on yet another incredible performance, with a designer who everyone knows. This year’s choice: this year’s Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Michael Kors.

After months of planning, Auxiliary President Alison Mauze stood on the runway before a sold-out crowd praising the event committee. “Our leadership in this event, Patty Rock, has done a magnificent job.” With many of the best dressed of the San Francisco Bay Area putting their dollars toward the 77 year-old San Francisco Ballet, it was an evening to remember.

Following a rapid-fire, heated live auction where bidders grabbed luxury trips to the Emmy Awards, Project Runway filming, and the Michael Kors spring fashion show in New York (earning the San Francisco Ballet $30,000 just for that trip alone), the haute show provided a firsthand glimpse of Kors’ American style “relaxed glamour” collection built off silks, cashmere and tweed in camel, smoke, anthracite, teak and loden (because they couldn’t possibly just call them gray or brown).

And while the fashion off the runway was – as always – just as interesting as that on the runway, the “vital ensemble” was the Auxiliary’s partnership with Saks and Michael Kors to make the event a success for the San Francisco Ballet, keeping them standing tall in San Francisco along with the St. Francis Hotel, for years to come.

Photos courtesy Drew Altizer Photography.

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