Photo | Kathy Tran
Nov. 29, 2017 (DALLAS) – Fashion for a Passion presented by Audi Dallas (title sponsor) gave guests from all over the Dallas community a fresh take on Asian American fashion, music and art at its 9th annual event on Nov. 11 at new venue sixty five hundred. Through sponsorships, ticket sales, live and silent auctions, a raffle and additional donations, more than 350 glamorous guests gathered together to raise more than $30,000 net, all of which benefit the mission of Against The Grain Productions, a Dallas-based non-profit, with its supported orphanages and underprivileged children in Asia, scholarship fund and community outreach programs for 2017.
“It is my honor and privilege to serve with an amazing tribe of volunteers and bring out the best in our community,” said Against The Grain President and Co-Founder Tammy Nguyen Lee. “Not only that, every year with FFAP we are able to showcase many different local Asian American artists within design, art, dance and music. This year, we were excited to have so many talented presenting designers, including DJiun Wang who was a previous ATG Artistic Scholarship recipient, graduate of Parsons and the first #FFAP2017 designer to present men’s swimwear!”
The event featured live entertainment, music by DJ Super T, a silent auction, art exhibit, fashion show with live auction, tasty bites by Royal Catering, delicious cocktails and cupcakes provided by CiCi’s Cupcakes, and concluded with a wrap-party with music by DJ Kasil for guests, artists and volunteers to mix and mingle until midnight.
Young Asian American entertainers stole the stage this year as they helped kick off the show. Eight year-old Ayden Nguyen in collaboration with thirteen year-old Jayden “JT” Tran hyped up the audiences with their energetic hip-hop moves, while beautiful and talented singer/songwriter JONAVI performed her music including her feature song from ATG’d Light of Day Documentary. Ronnie Chea aka “Twisted Optiks” rolled his unique beats and rhymes, combining his passion for hip-hop and poetry. NYC based rock violinist Yut And The Hot Four returned to provide live music to accompany stunning models (provided by Grogan Management LLC. and with hair and make-up styled by Toni & Guy) as they strutted down the runway (created by Magic Moments) in looks from past ATG Artistic Scholarship Winner & Parsons Graduate DJiun Wang, UNT design graduate Jiani Chen, Joanne Hong of Jolynn Kids, UNT design graduate Runa Shrestha and Tram Nguyen of Trang Tram Design.
Artists whose works were both on display and for auction included Color Tales by Uyen Vuong, Tina Ngo, DJiun Wang, and ATG Artistic Scholarship finalists Mai-Phuong Bui and Serena Shen. Top art auction was for “Divine Droplets,” a beautiful piece by Color Tales by Uyen Vuong.
ATG child models, nicknamed “ATG’s Little Artists”, also expressed their artistic talents and contributed by decorating wooden hearts that were displayed for donations.
Top bids for the night included Runa Shresthra’s show-stopping red evening gown, which went for $2,200, and two Nha Khanh dresses that were bid to $1,000. Runa Shresthra’s unique bomber jacket won the online vote for T-Shirt Design Competition.
CEO of The Smithee Group Ben Smithee and Emmy Award winning Host and style blogger Hilary Kennedy were this year’s emcees, along with The Source of Hope’s Quynh Chau Stone and Sam Liu as additional special guest emcees.
Event photography was generously provided by:
Click the links above for exclusive event footage!
Praise for Fashion for a Passion:
“I am very proud of the ATG Leadership and Volunteers. Being a supporter for their cause is the easy part, but carrying out the work that their team does is amazing and humbling. Thank you, ATG, for continuing the work and #beCAUSE of y’all, there is hope in many kids lives.” – Daniel Eng, President of ENGVEST | DFW iRealty and AREAA-DFW
“I enjoyed Fashion for a Passion very much and was honored to be invited to be part of this important and beautiful event. I hope to spread the word among my friends who can also help support [this] worthy cause.” – Anh Vo, Owner of Cindi’s NY Deli
“Tammy is changing the world, and I’m glad I can be a small part of it!” – Dr. Sam Lam, Facial Plastic and Hair Transplant Surgeon of Lam Facial Plastics | Ova Skin Care
“We love attending Fashion for a Passion each year. It’s wonderful to see the community come together for a great cause through music, art, and fashion. Thank you, ATG, for all of your work and dedication. We are proud to be a Year-round Sponsor!” – Di Kim, Owner of Pho is for Lovers
“FFAP is always an event I look forward to! It’s inspiring and motivating being surrounded by the ATG family as well as connecting with new designers and artists. I’m truly honored to have been a part of such a successful event!” – Joanne Hong, Designer of Jolynn Kids
“My experience with ATG has been great. It was an honor to be chosen as one of the presenting Asian American designers. I’ve always loved to do charity, and ATG has been a great platform for me to be able to help underprivileged children in South East Asia with education support. I wish for ATG to grow bigger in the future.” – Runa Shrestha, Designer
“FFAP was such a beautiful, unifying and welcoming experience. As a past scholarship recipient, it was a humbling moment to see the faces of people that believed in my artistic dreams. I have followed the event for the past few years and the quality of art, design and production value consistently grows.” – DJiun Wang, Designer, Past ATG Artistic Scholarship Recipient
“The event was well planned, and it was a great experience. The performers were amazing! So talented. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to showcase their talents in art, design or music to come and be part of Against The Grain Productions.” – Tram Nguyen, Designer of Trang Tram
“ATG’s FFAP has always been a great event for us to attend as supporters, to enjoy excellent performances, exhibit and beautiful fashion collections. This year, we had the opportunity to partake in FFAP’s art exhibit with our artwork created exclusively for ATG. It was heartwarming to feel the love for Color Tales from the ATG community. We also had the chance to connect with other artists and admire their art. It was such a humbling experience to see all of these incredible talents coming together to support ATG’s selfless mission. Thank you, ATG, for another wonderful event!” – Uyen Vuong, Artist/Founder of Color Tales
“Gauthami and I had such a wonderful experience with FFAP and ATG as vendors this year. As board members, we have contributed our time and energy, and now we were able to contribute a monetary gift from our sales at the event for such a worthy cause! We always love how the community comes together to celebrate Asian American artistry and culture and look forward to being a part of it again next year!” – Renae Virata, Former ATG Board Member, Co-Founder of UGauGrrl
“I love the event and how ATG has advocated for our community. We will continue to Go Against The Grain to support this amazing cause.” – Quynh Chau Stone, President/Founder of The Source of Hope
“FFAP was a magical night. I’ve never seen a more generous group of people come together to help others, and have so much fun doing it! The night was filled with great performances, delicious food and amazing auctions. But even more than that, it was an awesome opportunity to come together with people who have the common goal of making the world better and brighter. I laughed until my sides hurt, danced, shouted and had the time of my life. It’s one of the best events of the year in Dallas.” – Hilary Kennedy, Emcee, Emmy Award winning host and style blogger
“This year’s FFAP was undeniably the best year yet! Each year, the show, the energy and the passion get bigger and bigger and it never fails to completely impress me. I’m so very very proud to be part of such an amazing group and a truly phenomenal event! Thanks so much to Tammy and the ATG team for another amazing year!!! Here’s to 2018!!!” – Ben Smithe, Emcee and CEO of The Smithee Group
Press Write-Ups/Media Features:
VIETV Dallas – Fashion for a Passion Show 2017
Asia World Media – Celebrating A Good Cause, Through Fashion
About ATG Against The Grain Productions, Inc.
ATG Against The Grain Productions, a Dallas-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, promotes Asian American cultural awareness through compelling media projects and raises funds for international orphanages and underprivileged children. In addition to hosting outreach events, it also awards annual scholarships to exemplary Asian American student artists and leaders. ATG produced the feature documentary, Operation Babylift: The Lost Children of Vietnam, which has screened at more than a dozen film festivals nationwide and received the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the Vietnamese International Film Festival and the Documentary Audience Choice Award from the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. ATG will begin production on its second documentary, Light of Day, uncovering untold stories of domestic violence in the Asian community in 2017. For more information, visit www.AgainstTheGrainProductions.com or www.TheBabylift.com.
#ATGProds #FFAP2017 #beCAUSE
www.AgainstTheGrainProductions.com/Events/FFAP
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