Fabulous fashion takes centre stage at New York English Ball
Published:Sunday | November 7, 2021 | 12:06 AMJanet Silvera - Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Danny Wegman, whose company Wegmans Food Markets was again named #1 Fortune Best Workplaces in Retail for 2021, literally rocked a shimmering Versace suit recently at the English Ball in New York.
Wegman’s wife, Paula Kerr Jarrett, wore a just-as-fabulous safety pin cut-out black Versace piece made famous by Elizabeth Hurley 25 years ago.
Kerr-Jarrett Wegman said her husband insisted on the dress held together with the pins as she rubbed shoulders with A-listers who dug deep into their pockets, donating hundreds of thousands towards the Saint George’s Society of New York charity ball.
Kerr-Jarrett Wegman’s son Josh was just as hip as his stepfather and mother as the family showed their loyalty to the Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianna Versace in 1978.
As fashionable as the Kerr-Jarrett Wegman family was, so were the Jamaicans who flew into the Big Apple for the Anglo-American occasion, which saw Kerr-Jarrett Wegman receiving the prestigious Commonwealth Award for 2021.
The University of the West Indies, Mona’s Minna Isreal was stunning in red and black, while Coffee Traders’ Jacqui Sharpe was like a cutting razor in elegant black, complemented by Island Grill’s Thalia Lyn, who donned a red ensemble that brought energy to the room.
The women were on the Lifestyle hot-pick list and were photographed for wearing their dresses with bravura and flair throughout the evening.
As sophisticated as the other women were in the room, Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, who flew in from Washington, DC, for the occasion shone bright like a diamond and had heads trailing her black gown, which spoke volumes.
Renowned for her sense of style, Marks was perfect in a setting easily depicted as flawless.
And the lady who nominated Kerr-Jarrett Wegman for the award, Geneive Brown Metgzer, former Jamaica Consul General to New York, was not to be outdone as she opted for a signature piece by Halle Berry’s favourite designer Ellie Saab, taking her place on the panache roster.
David Murphy wearing a Scottish kilt was among the most photographed throughout the evening for the event which the organisers say included a diverse group of individuals united by a common purpose: to help people in need.
Outside of the money raised from the US$10,000 per table event, a silent auction amassed over US$100,000 in five minutes.
Founded on St George’s Day in 1770, St George’s Society of New York is one of America’s oldest charities.