Jessica Simpson, Kenneth Cole honoured at ACE Awards
Carol Lee Kim

NEW YORK - The 9th Annual ACE Awards was hands-down as entertaining and enjoyable as an awards show can be, with honorees like Betsey Johnson, Kenneth Cole and Sean “Diddy” Combs taking the stage by storm with outrageous behavior, words of wisdom and in-your-face comments. Hosted by the Accessories Council, the ACE Awards recognize individuals, companies and publications for their significant influence in fashion, accessories and style.
Photographers and animal activists competed to grasp the attention of fashion icons and celebrities such as honoree Oscar de la Renta and model Naomi Campbell as they made their way into the tres chic restaurant Cipriani’s on 42nd street. Although celebs graciously paused for the cameras, they ignored the angry chants of the protestors who viciously waved gruesome images of mutilated dogs and posters stating “Animals Are Not Accessories.”
Inside, stage lights shone brightly against the majestic columns that flanked the exquisite dining room. An army of waiters in matching white tuxes scurried to finish setting the fifty-odd indigo linen-covered tables with plates of fresh lobster claw and string bean salads as guests wined and dined on hors d’oeuvres at the pre-ceremony cocktail party.
Across the grand hall, camera bulbs flashed like crazy as the truly glamorous arrived fashionably late. Guests whispered in delight as ACE award recipients Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s petite frames made their way to their seats. Mary Kate looked resplendent in a blue Christian Dior cocktail frock and Fred Leighton baubles while Ashley looked sophisticated in her black Calvin Klein dress with a plunging v-neck.
Next to arrive was Fashion Icon honoree Jessica Simpson (sans hubby Nick Lachey) whose platinum blond frocks could be spotted from a hundred miles away. Simpson looked fabulous as usual in her strapless Oscar de la Renta dress and flashed the crowd her megawatt smile as she and her mother, Tina Simpson, greeted a bevy of friends.
As the event’s MC, TV anchor Deborah Nrville began her welcoming speech to the boisterous audience, talk of Combs being a no-show began to ripple through the crowd. Never being one to displease, however, the Bad Boy made his grand entrance into the restaurant after the commencement of the awards, dressed in a sleek velvet blazer, crisp white shirt and his average dose of bling.
The best speeches - or more befittingly, performances - of the evening included Betsey Johnson’s outrageous outfit and lengthy speech as she accepted her ACE Lifetime Achievement award from photographer Patrick McMullan. Kenneth Cole, who received the ACE Hall of Fame award, spoke with humor and humility as he contrasted his experience in the fashion industry to his concern of the worldwide AIDS and HIV epidemic. “Fashion is not all that important,” stated Cole. “But if we make what we do bigger than it is or bigger than ourselves, it becomes important.”