You could spend nearly every night in New York going to fundraising galas and other events where awards are given out.
If you did this, you could learn a lot about the intersection of wealth, power, ego and humility. You could also probably learn a lot about why people accept awards at all, and even how they do it, via the way they give "this is your life" acceptance speeches.
Eugenio Amos, Margherita Missoni, Francesco Missoni, Rosita Missoni, Angela Missoni and Teresa Missoni.
Taylor Schilling
Alexa Chung and Christopher Kane
A view of the Night of Stars hosted by the Fashion Group International.
From looking at the party photos, going out on the town looks glamorous. But it winds up being a lot of sitting around, trying not to clink your Champagne flute too noisily as you pretend to eat your asparagus, while someone drones on at a podium, over a triangular piece of glass that has been etched with his name.
Speaking of which, the Fashion Group International held its annual Night of Stars on Tuesday at Cipriani Wall Street. The Fashion Group International, made up of 5,000 members of the fashion industry, works on helping its individuals "become more effective in their careers," in part by focusing on marketplace trends.
Even when it comes to the fashion industry, which tends toward the starry, this Night of Stars was pretty twinkling. Honorees included Marc Jacobs and Robert Duffy; Angela Missoni; Alexander Wang; Christopher Kane; and Carine Roitfeld. They brought along their own presenters and a few celebrities, like Miley Cyrus (to give Messrs. Jacobs and Duffy their award); Aretha Franklin, who sang "Respect" toward the end of the evening, and Sofia Coppola, Zoë Kravitz, Kate Upton and Taylor Schilling of "Orange Is the New Black," who all happen to be pretty to look at and wear dresses well, too.
But when you honor people in 12 categories, from interior design to brand vision to sustainability, you are inviting 12 speeches. Plus the 12 speeches that it takes to introduce the people who are being honored. Twenty-four speeches in one night! And that's not including the ramblings of a master of ceremonies, who in Tuesday's case was the very funny Simon Doonan, and an introduction by Fashion Group International President Margaret Hayes. That is a lot of listening.
"If we don't get started, we won't leave til midnight," Ms. Hayes warned the crowd around 7:45 p.m. The prospect of being stuck at Cipriani listening to four hours of speeches about the fashion industry, with only a plate of burrata, some risotto and too many breadsticks in front of you, was a scary thought. Plus there was so much we had Tivo'd at home!
It was touch and go here and there, especially when Lew Frankfort, the chairman and chief executive of Coach said, after accepting the corporate leadership award for a solid 10 minutes, "I have a few closing remarks." But then he pledged, on behalf of his company, $15 million to the Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project, and all was (sort of) forgiven.
"Fashion employs 180,000 people in our city," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said as he was introducing Mr. Frankfort and Jamie Drake, who was honored for his interior-design work.
"After tonight's awards, I think he's going to raise his rates," Mr. Bloomberg said of Mr. Drake. "Although I'm not sure that's possible. You'd have to pay him to understand that joke."
After dinner was served, the awards were given quickly and in earnest. "The sooner we finish, the sooner we get to see Nadja clogging her brains out," said Mr. Doonan of Nadja Swarovski, who was honored for her "brand vision."
This was after joking that Ms. Swarovski, in a past life, had been a clog-dancing champion. OK, you had to have been there.
Ms. Franklin eventually took the stage with five—count 'em, five—backup singers, and then it was Ms. Cyrus's turn. For once in the last few weeks, Ms. Cyrus seemed put together. That means she was wearing a nice dress, probably designed by Mr. Jacobs.
"Aretha asked me if I was going to twerk, but I didn't think this was the right audience," Ms. Cyrus said, before describing how she met Messrs. Duffy and Jacobs. "When I was 16, I got a text from Robert asking me to come to a party, and I said, 'Duh. Hell yeah. Let's go.' So he sent a plane for me."
She went on: "I know you want to get out of here, so let's do this quick."
In a blink, Mr. Jacobs said something about how fashion "bravely allows for the possible," and it was time to go home.
Write to Marshall Heyman at marshall.heyman@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared October 24, 2013, on page A24 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Fashion's Gift of Gab.
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