City of Hope to Honor Halston CEO
Ben Malka, the chairman and chief executive of Halston, is this year’s honoree at the annual City of Hope’s Fashion and Retail Industry fund-raiser.
The Oct. 10 event will skip the usual sit-down dinner so popular in the past and have a more Studio 54 vibe at the Exchange Los Angeles at 618 S. Spring St.
There will be musical performances, a VIP meet-and-greet with invited celebrities, an exclusive Warhol Museum retrospective of 20 to 30 pieces of art coming from New York, a display of vintage designs from the Halston archives and food stations.
The annual event raises money for medical research that combats cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases.
Malka, a medical-school graduate and businessman, will be given the "Spirit of Life" award, which is presented each year to an apparel-industry leader who has demonstrated outstanding business and altruistic achievement.
“I’m proud to support City of Hope, an organization that has been saving lives for nearly 100 years,” Malka said. “City of Hope is an organization that is unique. They do research and have the facility to produce [cancer- and diabetes-fighting] drugs that cut years out of the cycle. You can't go against their success. Half the diabetics on earth are using their synthetic insulin.”
Malka invested more than $20 million in the Halston label in July 2011, becoming a majority shareholder, and moved its headquarters from New York to downtown Los Angeles. There are now about 150 people working at the company, said Halston spokeswoman Kelly Williamson. The label’s chief creative officer is Marie Mazelis, who was the creative director for Hervé Leger and Max Azria.
Before purchasing Halston, a label that had its ups and downs after Halston died of complications from AIDS in 1990, Malka worked for 10 years as corporate president at BCBG Max Azria Group.
Individual tickets for the event are $1,000. There are various other ticket packages available. For more information, call Alicia Rhymes at (800) 272-2310.– Deborah Belgum
