Each year during the Cannes Film Festival, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), holds their Cinema Against AIDS gala: the black-tie rendezvous for about eight hundred guests, among which are many of the stars from the films currently being screened in Cannes theatres, film producers, and anyone directly or indirectly involved in the fundraising effort. Chaired principally by Kenneth Cole, Harvey Weinstein, and Sharon Stone, Cinema Against AIDS helps raise funds for medical research. Both Weinstein and Stone have been tireless supporters of amFAR’s efforts to get the message out about AIDS awareness. Their participation in the gala helps to ensure as many A-listers as possible will show up, thereby increasing amFAR’s visibility. As Kenneth Cole explained to me when the gala was getting underway, "Anyone who is anyone will be here tonight, and Annie Lennox is going to sing. The night is going to be magical." Aware of the current economic climate, Cole told me that "last year was a different time and place, and it’s very hard out there, but it’s no less important in here."

Someone should've seen this coming: Designer Kenneth Cole, known for his terminally cheeky ads, managed to get a billboard up about the waterlogged landing of US Airways Flight 1459 in pretty incredible time (click image to enlarge). Cole's been known for his social activism streak throughout his career, so this isn't really all that surprising. Pretty neat, and a nice thing to see; we buy into it. Full story via WCBS here.

When celebrities rally to support important causes like curing world hunger, funding AIDS research, or in Rosario Dawson's case, fighting for the Latino vote, it’s logical to assume that questions in the realm of, “So, what’s your favorite Christmas present ever?” are probably off-limits. But then again, no one said it was logical to assume that logic is popular these days. At Kenneth Cole’s launch party for his new book, Awearness -- a compilation of 86 stories and essays by prominent media figures like Bill Clinton and Jon Bon Jovi -- a crowd almost uniformly clad in head-to-toe black (Kelly Cutrone would’ve been proud) lounged as journalists pressed belle of the ball and book contributor Rosario Dawson about what she likes to unwrap under the Christmas tree.

I'm shocked! Apparently the extravagantly planned mergers & acquisitions deal -- er, I mean wedding -- between Tommy Hilfiger and Dee Ocleppo is off the table. According to Page Six, the pair were planning to marry at Hilfiger's swanky Mustique digs this Friday and follow up with a larger celebration for friends at The Plaza in October. Not anymore!