Scenes from House of DIFFA 2022 — The 30th Anniversary “Extravaganza” Delivered on Its Promise

There are lots of incredible reasons to attend the annual DIFFA/Dallas gala. First and foremost: it provides direct care for North Texas AIDS Service Organizations. But it’s also the type of occasion where anything goes in terms of outfit options. Feathers and latex might even seem tame when put up against the ensembles for House of DIFFA 2022: Extravaganza.

As usual, the ensembles we saw that evening were a mashup of bold, opulent, avant-garde, and in some cases stop-traffic stunning. During the bustling cocktail hour, we perused the evening’s auction jackets, designed by fashion industry heavy hitters like Veronica Beard, Uncommon Man, Alberta Ferretti, Trina Turk, Frame, Nha Khanh, Lea Fisher, Adam Lippes, DSquared2, Lucchese, Emilio Pucci, Alexander McQueen, and Lela Rose.

After making our wish list of items, my date, recent Seattle transplant Kristin Bray, and I made our way to the main ballroom for a visually stunning dinner. We were guests at Zoe Bonnette‘s table and were also there to support and applaud our friend Nickki St. George, one of this year’s Legends (a group of former DIFFA Style Council Ambassadors and Board members). For her table, Zoe had included Vito Cammisano, Paul Hollowell, Tim Adair, and Matthew Sanchez. Over with Nickki, I spied Brian Bolke and Faisal Halum, along with recent New York transplant, CBS News correspondent Tom Hanson.

DIFFA Leadership — Clint Bradley, Justin Bundick, Brittanie Buchanan Oleniczak, Jim DiMarino, David White, and Tim Garippa — kept the fashion-heavy evening going smoothly, and reminded attendees of the organization’s core mission: to end the spread of HIV. Awards were presented in a variety of categories, including the distinction of “Legend” in the fight against AIDS, which went to Joyce Goss and Kenny Goss.

Highlights of the night? Bravolebrities Carson Kressley and Jai Rodriguez took to the stage for some fun banter. Also, Dashaun Wesley, host of the HBO Max series “Legendary,” performed with his troupe of dancers Voguing it up to thunderous clapping.

The award for best jewelry goes to a boy, Faisal Halum in a drool-worthy necklace from the Mikimoto and COMME des GARÇONS collaboration. Vintage Martini‘s Ken Weber wins for sexiest socks game. He was wearing knee-high garters with sheer socks and tuxedo shoes. And finally, multiple clapping hands emojis for Nickki St. George and her goddess-like headpiece.