Star-Studded Kering Foundation Dinner Raises More Than $4.5M to Combat Violence Against Women

One word consistently was mentioned among the stars attending Thursday’s Kering Foundation Caring for Women Dinner at New York’s The Pool restaurant and event space — hope, a word and emotion many declared was more vital than ever.

“It’s really special to be in a room full of people who are optimistic about the change that can happen when really smart, passionate people put their hearts and minds into something,” said Seth Meyers, attending with his wife, human rights attorney Alexi Ashe. “I feel like we’re just going to be surrounded by people like that tonight, and it’s hard not to see that as a ray of hope.”

This fourth-annual event, which benefits NGOs focused on combating violence against women and children, raised more than $4.5 million this year, up from $3 million in 2024. With non-profit organizations of every kind finding their grants abruptly cut or canceled by the Trump Administration this year, private fundraising is under the spotlight to do more.

“Every year is a different kind of chaotic next level, and this year, definitely,” said Salma Hayek Pinault, who with her husband, Kering chairman François-Henri Pinault, served as two of the night’s co-hosts. “At the same time, it inspires you even more. This is an event that’s about unity and community — and that’s actually the theme this year, community. But community doesn’t mean isolating with people who share only your same opinion. That’s why we try to have all kinds of people. There are all kinds of characters in there. And it’s not political; it’s just a meaningful, inspiring night.”

Also, don’t look at Hayek Pinault as solely a figurehead of this evening; she’s far from it. “We don’t just hire people to do it,” she added in her interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I was here all morning, decorating, checking the flowers, listening to the sound of the videos to make sure they’re not too loud, or that the lighting feels intimate. We think of everything.”

The packed cocktail party in the room adjacent to The Pool included Jessica Chastain, Demi Moore, Colman Domingo, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Moore, Diane von Furstenberg, Jeff Koons, Linda Evangelista, Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, Jeff and Lauren Bezos, Mariska Hargitay, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, editor Edward Enninful and Ariana DeBose as the evening’s emcee. All were on hand to support and learn more about the four organizations both being honored and the recipients of this year’s funds: Sanctuary for Families, FreeFrom, Violence Intervention Program and Equality Now.

“I’m very interested in Sanctuary for Families, which came to my attention this year because of the Kering Foundation,” Chastain told THR. “I’m such a New Yorker, and they’re a New York-based organization, so I’m thinking about what I can do with my time. They focus on gender violence and one in three women face gender violence in their lifetime, which is just unacceptable. Even if you’re not able to help financially, there are many, many ways you can help these organizations to help end this epidemic on women.”

“I am at a place in my life in which I am maintaining my discipline to hope,” Hargitay added. “That’s what it takes now in the way we’ve been steamrolled and what’s been happening with [non-profit] organizations. Every penny we can give ultimately adds to that hope. Tonight this room is filled with people who can make a difference, and it’s an opportunity to share and hold each other up.”

Many of the night’s attendees also were keen to meet Dolores Huerta, the 95-year-old icon who is known for her work in both the labor and feminist movements. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2012. “Federal funding for women and children are under threat, and events like tonight are the only way right now that we can continue the progress that’s being made,” she told THR. “Unless women can live in peace and feel protected and supported, the country will never fulfill our promise of democracy.” Huerta added with a smile, “We’ll never have peace in the world until feminists take power.”

Key to the night’s fundraising was a live auction that included a variety of one-of-a-kind items and experiences donated by houses under the Kering umbrella, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Ginori 1735 and Pomellato, as well as original artworks by Damien Hirst. The brands also were liberally seen on the red carpet, from Hayek Pinault, who wore a Balenciaga strapless tuxedo gown with Gucci shoes and handbag and Boucheron jewelry, to a plethora of stars in Gucci, including Moore, Chastain and Johnson, as well as Kirsten Dunst and Yara Shahidi.

Hargitay departed from the trend in Kering labels to wear a red caftan-style belted gown by Milan-based Taller Marma, paired with Pomellato jewels. “I tried it on and I loved it,” said Hargitay of the dress, while she also expressed dismay that she initially didn’t know the designer when she stepped on the red carpet — it was Vonn, whom the actress-director calls “my spirit animal,” who looked at the label on the back of her friend’s dress to confirm its designer.

Perhaps all the shouts by the paparazzi upon Hargitay’s arrival were because she’s garnered such praise for My Mom Jayne, the 2025 documentary about her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield? “Everybody loves a documentary — and a red dress,” Hargitay said with a laugh.

Asked about the buzz that My Mom Jayne has qualified for Oscar consideration, Hargitay immediately turned to Vonn: “You were the first one to say that to me.”

“You’re going to win an Oscar,” Vonn replied.

“And you’re going to win the Olympics,” Hargitay said. Vonn, a three-time Olympic medal winner, is currently planning to compete in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in February.

Among the night’s other unique pairings, director Baz Luhrmann arrived with Anna Wintour, who was accompanied by newly minted Vogue head of editorial content Chloe Malle and Vanity Fair global editorial director Mark Guiducci. Luhrmann had freshly arrived from Toronto, where his found-footage documentary EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert was met with ecstatic reviews from critics and audience alike. “I did not expect anything but a polite reaction, but we had to add additional screenings, and people in the audience, of every age, were dancing in the aisles,” he told THR. “And you know what? We need that right now.”

Indeed, on Thursday night, Luhrmann was among the Kering Foundation Dinner attendees only looking forward. “Ultimately I believe in the power of the human spirit, and the human spirit fundamentally has hope,” he said. “That’s what makes us human.”