PGI USA Helps Create Smiles for Children

Staff -- JCK Online, 9/1/2004 2:00:00 AM

Platinum Guild International USA (PGI-USA) lent Operation Smile a helping hand by adding the finishing touches to this year's "Smile Collection 2004 Couture Event." PGI-USA's Michael O'Connor and Antonia Caamaño styled each couture gown with platinum jewelry for the models of Operation Smile's fashion event, held May 17 at New York's Whitney Museum of Art. The event included a fashion exhibition of Italian couture gowns donated by top designers such as Versace, Missoni, and Moschino. All the gowns were available for auction to benefit Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children around the world with correctable facial deformities.

Master of Ceremonies for the event was Leon Hall of E! Entertainment and the Style Network. Event hosts were Donald Trump Jr., Vanessa Haydon, and Sarah Dolgen, and participating celebrities included Latin-pop star and Operation Smile Ambassador Paulina Rubio, The Apprentice star Kwame Jackson, Grammy Award winner Mariah Carey, and Donald Trump and fiancée Melania Knauss.

Models sported jewelry by Stephen Russell, Kwiat, and Gumuchian Fils in an array of looks.