The acceptance speeches were far more than afterthoughts Thursday night at Cipriani as the Fashion Group International celebrated the industry's "Rule Breakers" at their 24th annual Night of Stars. Jean Paul Gaultier, the evening's "Superstar," thanked his grandmother and his teddy bear, on whom he made his first cone bra. On a more serious note, the Lord & Taylor Fashion Oracle, André Leon Talley, accepted his award on behalf of four departed notables: Steven Robinson ("John Galliano's alter ego"), Gianfranco Ferré ("the Luciano Pavarotti of Italian high fashion"), Isabella Blow ("always a light"), and Sao Schlumberger of Paris.

Attendees included new-guard designers Chris Benz, Sari Gueron, and Vena Cava's Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, while the star factor was upped by Kerry Washington, Linda Evangelista, Jennifer Hudson, and Tilda Swinton, who said of honoree Alber Elbaz, "Humility is a word that people bandy about, but this man owns it."

In Chelsea, meanwhile, model Lisa Cant was one of many navigating the throng of hipsters, artists, and hipster artists packed into Phillips de Pury for RxArt's annual silent auction. "Are we lost?" she wondered aloud. Downtown fixtures Tara Subkoff, Benjamin Cho, and Hope Atherton scoped out canvases by art-world heavy hitters like Sol LeWitt and Marilyn Minter. "I'm a big supporter of 'If you have to have it, then just buy it,' " said Subkoff, eyeing a Richard Prince image of actress Jenny McCarthy that eventually went for $50,000. "I once bought a painting and couldn't pay my rent for four months."

At another event with heart, A-listers hit the red carpet for the fourth annual Black Ball, which benefits the Keep a Child Alive AIDS charity. Iman introduced the evening's honoree, Bono, to attendees such as Jay-Z, Sean Combs, and Salman Rushdie, who greeted the humanitarian rocker with a standing ovation. The group love continued when co-host Alicia Keys performed duets with Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, and Bono himself. "Alicia is the real deal," said Rachel Roy. "Her energy grabs you and makes you want to do something to help the world."

— Laird Borrelli-Persson (FGI), Evelyn Crowley (RxArt), and Jessica Ramakrishnan (Black Ball)