Hilton was especially eager for what followed the dinner—she would, in fact, be DJing at the event’s first afterparty. “I’m just excited to see all m
Hilton was especially eager for what followed the dinner—she would, in fact, be DJing at the event’s first afterparty. “I’m just excited to see all my friends and just all to be here for such an amazing cause to support women, it’s so important,” she told VF. “It’s a thing that I do all the time.”
After a sampling of crab cakes, crunchy yellowtail tuna, and plenty of champagne, the guests milled into a larger atrium where the dinner kicked off.
Pinault launched the Kering Foundation in the mid-2000s as the philanthropic arm of Kering, the luxury holding company that owns fashion houses like Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga. The foundation operates in the UK, US, France, Italy, Mexico, and South Korea, to end intergenerational gender-based violence and childhood sexual violence.
“When you have Simone Biles, when you have Pamela Anderson, Dakota Johnson, being there and with their name fully associated with the cause of fighting violence against women, it makes a difference,” Pinault told VF in advance of the event.
Guests like Dakota Johnson enjoyed a three course meal with petit fours for dessert.Saskia Lawaks
“When we started [the foundation] back in 2007, the situation was different. But not that the situation was easier. No one was talking about that, to be honest,” Pinault said about his focus on gender-based violence. “What drove me to choose that cause for the group was that it was taboo. And thanks to Salma I was discovering the reality of the situation.”
Pinault said recent challenges are emerging, particularly on social media. “What’s happening online in terms of violence on women, it’s crazy,” he said, later adding in his speech that one in three women and girls will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes.
“Over the past year, we have seen a dramatic rise in gender-based violence enabled by technology,” he told the crowd. “This can lead men, especially young men, to believe that misogyny is simply part of manhood. This, too, cannot become the new normal.”
