Paris Hilton arrived at the Kering Foundation’s Caring for Women dinner with a clear focus on the evening’s next act: she was scheduled to DJ the event’s first after-party. “I’m just excited to see all my friends and just all to be here for such an amazing cause to support women. It’s so important,” she told Vanity Fair. “It’s a thing that I do all the time.”
A Night of Philanthropy and High-Profile Support
Following a cocktail hour featuring crab cakes, crunchy yellowfin tuna, and Champagne, guests moved into a larger atrium for the seated dinner. The annual gala supports the Kering Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns fashion houses including Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga.
Established in the mid-2000s, the foundation operates across the UK, US, France, Italy, Mexico, and South Korea. Its mission centers on ending intergenerational gender-based violence and childhood sexual violence.
Celebrity Advocacy Amplifies the Mission
The presence of high-profile figures underscores the cause’s visibility. “When you have Simone Biles, when you have Pamela Anderson, Dakota Johnson, being there and with their name fully associated with the cause of fighting violence against women, it makes a difference,” François-Henri Pinault, Kering’s chairman and CEO, told Vanity Fair before the event.
Guests, including Dakota Johnson, enjoyed a three-course meal capped with petit fours for dessert.
Confronting a Taboo: The Foundation’s Origins
Reflecting on the foundation’s inception, Pinault noted the shift in public discourse over nearly two decades. “When we started [the foundation] back in 2007, the situation was different. But not that the situation was easier. No one was talking about that, to be honest,” Pinault said regarding the focus on gender-based violence. “What drove me to choose that cause for the group was that it was taboo. And thanks to Salma I was discovering the reality of the situation.”
Emerging Threats: Technology-Facilitated Violence
Pinault warned that new challenges are emerging, particularly across digital platforms. “What’s happening online in terms of violence on women, it’s crazy,” he said, later adding in his speech that one in three women and girls will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes.
Addressing the crowd directly, he outlined the scale of the digital threat. “Over the past year, we have seen a dramatic rise in gender-based violence enabled by technology,” he told the crowd. “This can lead men, especially young men, to believe that misogyny is simply part of manhood. This, too, cannot become the new normal.”
