On Thursday, March 24, The American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) Chairman Kenneth Cole, amfAR Ambassador Cheyenne Jackson, and other guests such as Thom Browne, Richard Chai, Robert Geller, Paolo Diacci, Michael Lewis, and Izhar Patkin, celebrated the kick-off of amfAR’s Inspiration Event Series at a penthouse suite of the new Mondrian Soho.

Guests sipped on Grey Goose cocktails as Kenneth Cole gave guests a preview of amfAR’s upcoming Inspiration gala, which will take place on June 14 at the Museum of Modern Art and honor James Franco with an award for his personal, professional and humanitarian strives. Guests will also be encouraged to dress inspired by the evening’s theme “Black Tie/Hot Metal.”

Some designers participating in the upcoming amfAR series are Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Hermes, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs, Michael Bastian, Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole, Hugo Boss, DSquared², Ralph Lauren, Richard Chai, Rick Owens, Thom Browne, Tim Hamilton, and Robert Geller.

In 2011, amfAR, commemorates its 25th year at the forefront of the global struggle against HIV/AIDS. Born from the union of two like-minded organizations—the AIDS Medical Foundation in New York and the National AIDS Research Foundation in Los Angeles—amfAR awarded its first research grants in 1986. Today, amfAR is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1986, amfAR has invested nearly $325 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide. Elizabeth Taylor, one of the foundation’s key supporters and Founding International Chairman passed away on March 23, 2011 to much sadness across the entertainment and humanitarian worlds.

To view more photos from this event, visit Haute Living’s Events Gallery.

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