| When Mindy and Jon Gray were pulling together Tuesday’s fundraiser for the Basser Center for BRCA, Mr. Gray asked his wife that the attire be kept casual.
No one likes dressing up for events, thought Mr. Gray, the global head of real estate at the Blackstone Group. So when save the dates went out, invitations that might normally read “black tie” or “festive dress,” instead read “chic attire, jeans desired.”
“People didn’t believe us,” said Ms. Gray, who wore a sparkly fur vest with her jeans. “They kept emailing asking, ‘Are you sure we can wear jeans?’ And we kept writing back, ‘We mean it.’”
In the spring of 2012, with a donation of $25 million, the Grays founded the Basser Center at their alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, in honor of Ms. Gray’s sister, Faith Basser, who died of ovarian cancer. The Basser Center focuses on BRCA gene mutation-related cancers.
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At first the Grays expected their event to be small—maybe 300 friends. But it grew and grew to 1,100 people, including Robin Roberts, Abby Elliott of “Odd Mom Out,” Libby and Dan Goldring, Martha Stewart, Bill and Karen Ackman, Jonathan Marc Sherman and Alexandra Shiva, Darcy Miller and Andrew Nussbaum, William and Karen Berlind, Kate and Andy Spade, and songwriter Kara DioGuardi who was applauded when she spoke about her prophylactic mastectomy.
“I never thought I’d get cheers for doing that,” Ms. DioGuardi admitted.
This was a relatively young crowd and there was much more schmoozing between courses and at program breaks than you normally see at Cipriani Wall Street. Clearly the relaxed attire created a more comfortable, less stuffy atmosphere.
“And everyone in New York is here,” said Mr. Sherman, as he surveyed the packed ballroom and mezzanine.
“The cause resonated with a lot of people,” said Ms. Gray, who had to move cocktail hour across the street to the Museum of American Finance to fit the demand.
“It’s crazy, the response has been incredible,” added her husband, who was wearing a pair of Rag & Bone jeans. “It blew away every expectation.”
The evening’s title “Unzip Your Genes” and its dress code seemed to resonate with the crowd.
“I’m wearing white jeans,” said Ms. Stewart.
“If my mother knew I was wearing jeans to an event she’d be horrified,” said Ms. Gray in a speech. “But if she knew what these jeans meant, she’d kvell.”
Rag & Bone helped brand special jeans for women with the geometric Basser Center logo and sold three different kinds at a table at Cipriani as a fundraising tool for the evening.
The venue was also denim-ed out. Napkins were made of denim; candles were wrapped in them. The backdrop of the stage was a denim print with a three-dimensional zipper pull and teeth attached, designed at David Stark’s studio, made of painted, sculptural wood pieces. And hanging from the ceiling was a huge pair of jeans made of printed translucent fabric, suitable, perhaps for a giant or an extremely, extremely tall Glamazon, one with 30-foot long legs.
The evening’s entertainment included a performance by the Brooklyn band American Authors, as well as an improvised hip-hop song about Mr. and Ms. Gray and the Basser Center by members of Freestyle Love Supreme.
“I want to hire them for my daughter’s birthday party,” said Andy Spade about the comedy troupe.
Ms. Gray said she expected to turn this event into an annual, or at least, biannual occasion.
“We have to,” she said. “There’s just so much exciting energy around it.” Besides, pulling it together was enjoyable, she added. “It was not ever hard,” she explained. “It was fun.”
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