NBA Legend, His Music Star Wife and Fabulous Fashions Make This Houston Night Unforgettable: It’s a Major Texas Southern Moment

What: Texas Southern University’s For the Sake of Art Gala

Where: Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel

PC Moment: Another fabulous For the Sake of Art Gala brought an eclectic mix of fashion, art and even an NBA Hall-of-Famer alongside his R&B songstress wife for the most explosive and colorful Texas Southern University evening yet.

Co-chairs Mary Auzenne, Gaynell Drexler, and Evelyn Washington were the heads of TSU’s biennial fashion-meets-art fête. This year the evening benefit brought forth another fabulous runway show and competition paired with a scintillating silent art auction stocked with works by Michael Ray Charles; TSU alums Robert Pruitt, Nathaniel Donnett, Kermit Oliver and Earlie Hudnall Jr.; and Jamal Cyrus (fresh from his solo booth at Inman Gallery during last December’s Art Basel Miami Beach and winner of the BMW Art Prize), among a slew of other collectable lots.

Grant and Tamia Hill fielded the evening as honorary co-chairs. Grant – a seven-time NBA All-Star and just announced as a Class of 2018 member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame – is a renowned collector of African-American art. His museum-worthy holdings have been featured in national tours, including a stop at his alma mater Duke University.

For the Sake of Art each year encourages fledgling designers including TSU students to create wearable art and fashions that are then judged by an esteemed panel of insider-types. This year’s panel included designer Cesar Galindo, Gayla Gardner, artist Selven O’Keef Jarmon, former CAMH curator/now Virginia Museum of Fine Arts curator Valerie Cassel Oliver, and Project Runway Season Five runner-up Korto Momolu.

And the winners were: Grand Prize went to Shirlette Thompson, who also snagged the People’s Choice Award, for her bright, intricately detailed ruffled dress. Second place was awarded to Kyndall Bollmeyer‘s LED light-strewn design, and Nghi Nguyen captured third with a dramatic winged creation.

The Toni Whitaker Award was bestowed upon Andrea Giralt Brun for an architecturally informed ensemble, while Charlie Miller took home the Most Creative Award for a dress primarily made out of blue rubber gloves.

FSOA also honored renowned artist Radcliffe Bailey for his longstanding influence and presence in contemporary African-American art.

Who: University Museum director Dr. Alvia Wardlaw; emcees Joy Sewing and Chauncy Glover; and supporters Merele Yarborough, Community Artists Collective’s Michelle Barnes and husband Barry Barnes, Cheryl Creuzot, Don Mafrige Jr., Artnews Top 200 collector Lester Marks (whose collection boasts a seminal Radcliffe Bailey), stylist Brandon McClendon; and TSU faculty Leamon Green, Deon Robinson, and the retired Dr. Sarah Trotty.