Society / Featured Parties

Houston’s Hottest Gents Parade on Catwalk For an Unforgettable Una Notte Swan Song — $540,000 Raised With Hoots, Hollers and Fun For All

A Bayou City Fashion Party Like No Other

BY // 11.11.22

After a quarter century of this men’s fashion frolic for charity, Una Notte in Italia delivered a record breaking grand finale with founders Debbie and Rudy Festari finishing the tradition at the Omni Hotel with an unforgettable swan song night. Tables sold out months in advance with regulars eager to join the final celebration, which by evening’s end had enriched Children at Risk coffers by $540,000.

That unexpected sum was in part due to the generosity of newcomers to the scene Ginny and Dustin Bailey, CEO of High Roller Group. When auctioneer Johnny (Jumpin’) Bravo lifted his gavel on the first auction item, Dustin rose his paddle and made a conclusive $100,000 bid “for the children.”

Pete Bell, Dominique Sachse and Greg Fourticq (Quy Tran)
Pete Bell, Dominique Sachse, Greg Fourticq at Una Notte in Italia (Photo by Quy Tran)

More than 550 guests joined the always-lively if not occasionally raucous festivities that feature high-profile gents, wearing Festari for Men fashions, parading the catwalk to hoots, hollers, whistles and tossed flowers and faux dollar bills. Headliners in the spotlight included Cotton Holdings founder and CEO Pete Bell; Quantam Energy Partners co-president Ajay Khurana and his son Shaan; Trinity Gas Storage executive veep Matthew Hurley; and Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and his son Gerard.

Popular attorney Travis Torrence with Shell, who brought the crowd to a cheering crescendo as he closed the Una Notte in Italia show to the sounds of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love.” Each man had selected the music to accompany his strut. The crowd was also on its feet when Rudy Festari ended the show by making his final runway walk.

debbie festari and dustin bailey (quy tran)
Debbie Festari, Dustin Bailey at Una Notte in Italia (Photo by Quy Tran)

Also in the show were Dr. Matthew Brams of Memorial Park Psychiatry and Al Lindseth, husbands of Una Notte chairs Dr. Alice Mao Brams and Stacey Lindseth. Reprising her role as glamorous emcee was Dominique Sachse while Debbie Festari served as the always very active honorary chair.

PC Seen: Children at Risk president and CEO Bob Sanborn, Brigitte Kalai, Hallie Vanderhider, Ben Berg, Lara Bell and Brent Milam, Melissa and Michael Mithoff, Rachel Bagwell, Jennifer and Chad Pinkerton, Kristen Cannon, Melissa Juneau, Iradia and Danny Brown, Courtney Hopson, Neal Hamil, Esther and Hugo Guerrero, Christine and Steve Johnson, and Ann and Jonathan Ayre.

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