The
White Party South Beach Style
Born from fashion, entertainment and a desire to end AIDS, for
21 years Miami's South Beach residents and visitors have infused
the annual White Party with an energy and enthusiasm that serves
as a model in the world of circuit parties and AIDS awareness
and fundraising.
At a time when AIDS was first receiving national media attention
and prevention and treatment were relatively unknown, a core of
Miami's trendsetters determined to use their ingenuity and style
to create an event to raise money to combat the oncoming struggle.
Altruistic,
visionary, compassionate, innovative, intelligent Frank Wager,
co-founder and guiding light of the White Party represented
Miami at its best. Born in El Salvador and educated in Boston,
Frank headed for Paris in the mid-seventies where a group of
expatriates from four continents were in the process of altering
how gay people perceived themselves forever.
An
integral member of the mythic Club Sept crowd - which included
Antonio Lopez, Kenzo, Donna Jardon, Jerry Hall, Jessica Lange,
Grace Jones, Yves St. Laurent, Tina Chow, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom
Cashin, and Paloma Picasso - Frank's first business venture
was in the world of fashion where, in partnership with the inimitable
Guy Cuevas, their first collection caused a furor and inspired
St.Laurent's look.
The
growing political unrest back home in Central America, where,
in the eighties kidnappings and political murders had become
everyday occurrences, forced Frank back home to the New World.
Looking for a place to re-settle his family, he chose Miami
for the obvious reasons.
Once
here, he opened and operated the highly successful Club Clue
Non-Stop Boutique in Coconut Grove and South Miami, where he
and his staff created and popularized what became the dance
club uniform of the 90's - jeans, cut-offs, Doc Marten boots
with white socks, sleeveless shirts, neck chains, etc.
Moving
on to South Beach, his boutique/restaurant/salon Tutti Plein
was part of that first wave of trend-setting businesses that
helped popularize South Beach as the Ultimate Destination.
In
1985, the founders of the newly formed Health Crisis Network
asked Frank to head their fund raising efforts and the White
Party was born, netting that first year $16,000. Over the years,
it has become an internationally recognized event. In 1995,
several new events such as The Victory Party and Muscle Beach
joined the line up and White Party Week began to take shape.
Then
in 1998 Health Crisis Network merged with Community Research
Initiative, another large South Florida HIV/AIDS organization,
and Care Resource was born. Since then The White Party is Care
Resource's largest funding source and has netted over 150 times
its original amount.
Throughout
it's twenty-one year history White Party Week has been featured
in W, Vanity Fair, Glamour Magazine, Details Magazine, Ocean
Drive Magazine, The New York Times, E! Entertainment Television,
documentaries by Bravo, The Travel Channel, and the BBC, the
Playboy Channel, Deco Drive and of course on all local TV news
programs.
Celebrities
who have attended and/or were featured at the festivities throughout
the years include fashion designers Calvin Klein and Patricia
Field, performers like Shannon, Ru Paul, Jennifer Holiday, Patti
Labelle, Kristine W, Deborah Cox and Lorna Luft, television
personalities such as Kyan Douglas, Carson Kressley and Thom
Filicia from Bravo's "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy"
and the Material Girl herself - Madonna!
While
for many, White Party Week is just another date on the circuit
party calendar, for those who work on it year round as volunteers
and staff, it is still a time of reflection and remembering,
of compassion and caring, of love and hope, of joy and of courage,
as Frank had originally intended.
(Information
and text originally presented by CareResources.)
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