The 2024 DKMS gala Thursday night drew hundreds of attendees and raised millions — with quite the guest list to boot.
The annual event, which drew 800 guests and raised $4.7 million at Cipriani Wall Street, honored Vera Wang and saw a mix of celebrities and beauty industry executives in attendance.
Wang joined Coty Inc. chief executive officer (and previous DKMS honoree) Sue Nabi, musical performer Andra Day, actor-turned-auctioneer Mario Cantone, DKMS executive chair Katharina Harf, and her father Peter Harf, who founded the nonprofit that focuses on blood cancer and disorders.
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The elder Harf, who is also the chairman of Coty, nodded to Wang’s fragrance business when saying women “feel like princesses in gowns celebrating their unique beauty, elegance and individuality,” when presenting the award. Princess is a key fragrance pillar for Wang’s beauty business, for which Coty holds the license.
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“I don’t want to do any advertising here, but as a disclosure, I’m the chairman of Coty,” Harf joked onstage.
Wang took the opportunity to praise the Harfs’ efforts against blood cancer. “I am in awe of Katharina’s tireless efforts, despite the profound loss of her beloved mother to leukemia,” Wang said, noting she had attended nearly every DKMS gala in New York over the past two decades. “I have also seen the joy and relief of patients and their families when they meet their life-saving donors — moments made possible by the work of this organization.”
Katharina Harf then introduced 11-year-old Brooklynn St. John to her donor for a stem cell transplant, firefighter Justin Bradshaw, onstage. “There are so many other incredible stories about deep bonds families form after transplant,” she said. “These relationships often last for a lifetime.”
To date, Katharina Harf said, DKMS has “registered more than 12.5 million donors and over 120,000 patients have been given a second chance in life.”