Jeanne Beker found her inner model and WWE wrestler Trish Stratus found herself a man at the Dare to Wear Love gala

Jeanne Beker found her inner model and WWE wrestler Trish Stratus found herself a man at the Dare to Wear Love gala

After a full week (and then some) of shows and parties, the fashion elite and well-to-do guests tend to let loose at the Dare to Wear Love gala fundraiser, which has closed out Fashion Week since 2009. At this year’s festivities, socialite Biko Beauttah out-dressed the rest of the front row in a gold Queen of the Nile get-up, complete with a lion diadem, and model Stacey McKenzie hopped up out of her seat to boogie with reggae singer Errol Blackwood during a mid-show performance. Singer Divine Brown and designer Brian Bailey were content to watch, but Jeanne Beker took her turn doing the catwalk thing—complete with a model pout—in a Greta Constantine dress. David Dixon, Izzy Camilleri and Adrian Wu were among those who designed outfits using African print fabric, all to benefit the Stephen Lewis Foundation.

Click here to see the Dare to Wear Love show »

Drag personality Lena Love drew cheers for her shimmies—a high-risk move, considering her plunging dress (in his post-show speech, Stephen Lewis promised to hit the runway in something similar next year). Ainsley Kerr walked in Damzels In This Dress, while TV host Dina Pugliese modelled a frothy Adrian Wu gown. A few good men also walked the runway this year: Jamie Kennedy and his sons Nile, Micha, and Jackson (“very tall, very cute,” according to one onlooker) in matching shirts and tribal paint, and musician Royal Wood with wife Sarah Slean. The star of the night, however, was pint-sized WWE wrestler Trish Stratus, who drew a roar when she kissed her bicep at the end of the runway, and a standing ovation when she picked up a male audience member, slung him over her well-muscled shoulder, and headed back down the runway. We’d like to see your average runway model attempt that one.