Long before there was American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, and other American Dream-themed reality shows, there was the American Image Awards, an annual, over-the-top gala honoring talent and philanthropy in the fashion industry and sponsored by The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA). This year’s extravaganza at the Grand Hyatt drew over 750 of the biggest names in fashion and raised nearly $1 mil for The Rita Hayworth Fund of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Stars came out to shine, including Christie Brinkley, host of the evening’s festivities. A hefty roster of luminaries presented and accepted the coveted awards, including Kevin Bacon, who presented the Fashion Maverick Award to Damon Dash. David Hyde Pierce, now appearing in the Tony Award-winning Spamalot, presented the Spirit of a Woman Award to the founder of the Rita Hayworth Fund, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, for her decades-long philanthropic efforts to combat Alzheimer’s disease, the illness from which her mother, silver-screen siren Rita Hayworth, tragically suffered.

Among the faces in the fashion-forward crowd: Isaac Mizrahi (winner of the coveted Designer of the Year Award); Mossimo Giannulli; America’s Next Top Model 3 winner, Eva Pigford; up-and-coming designer Rachel Roy (Damon Dash’s wife); and Victoria Gotti, star of A&E’s Growing Up Gotti. A defining event with designs on making a difference….