Houston fashion icon Diane Lokey Farb outdresses everyone in town

We've long thought that there needed to be some super, superior, ultimate fashion award that would go to the tippy top of the city's best dressed ranks — an honor that would be given judiciously, only every once in a while, based strictly on wardrobe magnificence. 

How about that for shaking up all those designer closets!

Over the years, only two candidates who could breeze right into that Houston Valhalla of fashion fame came immediately to mind — Diane Lokey Farb and Lynn Wyatt. Two women who are so consistently beautifully attired that they cause lesser fashionistas to weep in their stylish wake.

Well, the fashion-fabulous Farb takes an honor as close to our as-yet-established Empress of Houston Fashion Award (OK, I made that up) as you can get, thanks to Houston Community College's fashion and interior design programs. In March, Farb will be honored with the 2011 HCC Design Society Fashion Icon Award. Applause, applause — to HCC for being so brilliant and to Farb for being so perfectly-dressed.

With the award luncheon in mind, luxury car loads of fashionables turned out Thursday night at the spectacular Southampton home of Gabriela and Daniel Dror to kick off the March 1 fundraiser, aptly titled "Passion for Fashion." At the center of the swirl was Farb wearing a show-stopping Dennis Basso cocktail dress.

Stepping in to assist the Drors, who underwrote the sparkly reception catered by A Fare Extraordinaire, were luncheon honorary chair Leisa Holland-Nelson and Nidhika Mehta, who shares the role of luncheon chair with Gabriela.

Among the high-style crowd was Donna Josey in full-length sable coat, the forever-young Joan Schnitzer-Levy, fashion blogger Roz Pactor, Laura Mercier cosmetics founder Janet Gurwitch, Baccarat's Bruce Padilla, animal rights activist Shelby Kibodeaux, honorary consul for Cyprus Bill Crassas and wife Joanne, Houston magazine publisher Lou DeLone, and Cara Morales with her steady Momentum Audi GM Jared Lang.

Lang will also be honored at the "Passion for Fashion" luncheon at Hotel ZaZa for his role in spearheading the successful Audi Fashion Houston. Supporters of that effort Bambi Lynn and Erica Reneé Garza were also in the Thursday mix.

Bonus at the March luncheon are special guests Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who will be interviewed by CultureMap editor in chief Clifford Pugh.

Notables on hand included HCC president William Harmon,  HCC division chair Kay King, Pershant Mehta, Sharon Adams, Gracie Cavnar, Sandy Barrett, Judith Oudt, Karina Barbieri, Saula Valente and Patricia Oliver.