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    Kevin Sumlin's Helicopter

    Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin swoops into Houston billionaire's sports celeb party in a helicopter

    Shelby Hodge
    Apr 27, 2014 | 8:03 am

    Little if anything related to charitable fundraising at the Tilman Ferttita home is without TV-worthy drama and party excellence. Consider the most recent "Gathering of Champions" benefiting Houston Children's Charity.

     

    Texas A&M football coach Kevin Sumlin and wife Charlene arrived in the billionaire entrepreneur's massive backyard in River Oaks via Fertitta's private helicopter.

     

    How sweet it was for the 100 VIPs who had ponied up the $1,000 per person to rub elbows with celebs of the sports world including coaching legends R.C. Slocum of A&M history and Wade Phillips, formerly of the Houston Texans. For good measure astronaut Walt Cunningham was part of the talent pool.

     

     Laura Ward, HCC executive director, and Fertitta, HCC board chairman, welcomed the 32 athletes that included Brian Ching, Hakeem Olajuwon, Spencer Tillman, Ray Childress, Elvin Hayes, Robert Horry, John Lucas, Eric Winston and Bucky Richardson. Assistant director of A&M football Justin Moore joined the party as well, arriving in that helicopter with Sumlin.

     

    In addition to savoring the sports-rich celebrity turnout, guests dined around the Fertitta resort-style swimming pool on delicacies from the Landry's restaurant empire. Food stations included shrimp cocktails, stuffed salmon and filet mignon, all the sides and desserts. As is standard for events at the Fertitta home, the accent was on great food, service and fun.

     

    Big spenders, aka HCC mega-supporters, were David Huntington, high bidder on the photo opp with the celebs, and Edna Meyer-Nelson, high bidder on the golf opportunity with Clyde Drexler and Craig Biggio. Their generosity and that of other guests helped raise $110,000 for HCC coffers.

     

    Joining this multi-tiered evening were Paige Fertitta, Dave Ward, Gary Becker and Kellie Letsos, Andrew Cordes and Brian Teichman, Grant Guthrie, Dan D’Armond, Debbie and Bob Ogle, Dancie and Jim Ware, Maria Moncada-Alaoui and Omar Alaoui, Monty Meave, Kris Cogliano and Otis Peavy.

    Brian Ching, left, Liz Eklund and Andrew Cordes.

      
    Photo by Michelle Watson CatchlightGroup
    Brian Ching, left, Liz Eklund and Andrew Cordes.
    unspecified
    news/society

    Silk and Sequins

    Cultural fashion takes center stage at Runway to Asia in Houston

    Joel Luks
    Jul 10, 2025 | 12:30 pm
    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
    Photo by Annie Mulligan
    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

    If fashion is a language, Runway to Asia spoke it fabulously fluently.

    The ballroom of The Post Oak Hotel shimmered with silk, sequins, and sartorial splendor as Asia Society Texas debuted its first-ever Runway to Asia style-studded affair — a glamorous gala-meets-catwalk moment where heritage was hand-stitched into haute couture.

    More than 300 guests filled the swanky venue for the event, greeted by models perched like living mannequins in Danny Nguyen’s Fall/Winter 2025 collection, each ensemble a fabric-forward love letter to cultural identity and avant-garde vision. This was a glamnifesto on what it means to wear your roots with pride and purpose.

    Leading the stylish charge were co-chairs Leigh Smith, Shazia Sultan, and Phoebe Tudor, who curated the afternoon like seasoned couturiers. Attendees noshed on a three-course lunch before the real feast began: a full-throttle catwalk presentation honoring two design dynamos — Danny Nguyen, Houston’s own silhouettist supreme, and international fashion luminary Zang Toi.

    Rekha Muddaraj, former KHOU 11 anchor turned emcee extraordinaire, welcomed the crowd with poise, passing the mic to Asia Society Texas president Bonna Kol, who framed the gathering as more than just fashion, but part of the nonprofit’s mission to celebrate cultural diversity through art.

    The applause crescendoed when Michael Buening, the organization’s director of performing arts and culture, announced the event had raised more than $300,000 to fund more than 20 annual programs.

    Pro tip: philanthropy always looks better in couture.

    Then came the honors. Nguyen was honored with the Texas Trendsetter Award, praised by Shazia Sultan for blending traditional elegance with avant-glam silhouettes. Meanwhile, Tudor crowned Toi with the Global Icon Award, charting his runway rise from Malaysia to Manhattan.

    Toi’s “Opulence of the Orient Express” collection brought the house down with 37 jaw-dropping looks: Ottoman-inspired caftans, midnight velvet suits, pearl-dusted evening gowns, and coat-dress hybrids that defied the laws of layering. Each ensemble whispered luxury and screamed craftsmanship.

    The raffle added a thrill of retail roulette with prizes including a luxe Hill Country escape, personal styling sessions with the honorees, and golden tickets to Zang Toi’s Fall 2026 New York show.

    Soaking in the scene were Sushila Agrawal, Nancy Allen, Fady Armanious, Kristy Bradshaw, Divya Brown, Tripp Carter, Theresa Chang, Anne Chao, Molly Crownover, Kari Dagley, Chloe Dao, Debbie Festari, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Brigitte Kalai, Mandy Kao, Sippi Khurana, Karen Kwok, Teri Lee, Kelley Lubanko, Christy Lynn, Petra Martinez, Sneha Merchant, Duyen Nguyen, Cabrina Owsley, Akemi Saitoh, Miya Shay, Sue and Randy Sim, Shawn Stephens, Y. Ping Sun, Ileana Trevino, Janae Tsai, Stephanie Tsuru, Heidi Turney, and Asha Virani.

    Asia Society Runway to Asia fashion show 2025
      

    Photo by Annie Mulligan

    Rekha Muddaraj, Shazia Sultan, Danny Nguyen, Zang Toi, Bonna Kol, Phoebe Tudor, and Leigh Smith.

    fundraisersasia society texas centerfashion show
    news/society

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