François-Henri Pinault wasted no time getting to the purpose beneath the glamour. From the stage, he pointed to violent social-media trends, deepfakes, and AI-generated abuse as emerging threats. “All these can lead men, and particularly young men, to believe that misogyny is simply part of manhood,” he said. “And this too cannot become the new norm.” Then he turned to his wife. “My love, Salma. Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for being the driving force behind the Kering Foundation. None of this would exist without you.”
What followed brought the work itself into focus, as emotional films introduced the four beneficiary organizations and the women at the center of their efforts before representatives emotively addressed the room themselves.
Then the paddles came out. Among the evening’s auction lots was a trip to Milan with Bottega Veneta, complete with a private session with creative director Louise Trotter—and a $50,000 spending credit to match. Another promised an Argentine polo weekend at world-renowned player and evening co-host Nacho Figueras’s private ranch.
Figueras took the stage to offer a glimpse of what awaited the winner, prompting the kind of collective heart-flutter usually reserved for a rom-com lead. “Martha, you can ride with me. How are you, Martha?” he called to Martha Stewart. Naturally, Stewart’s hand was the first to shoot up when bidding began. “Nacho—oh my God,” Stewart said with a swoon to Vogue afterward. “I’m so glad he called me out.” By the end of the auction, the evening had amassed a staggering sum: more than $5 million for organizations supporting women and children.
Even when dinner was over and guests began filtering toward The Grill to celebrate, Hayek Pinault was not quite finished. She remained behind making introductions to the NGO leaders, speaking emphatically about their work, and continuing conversations long after the rest of the room had cleared. “Awareness is important, but I really think it’s a little boring,” she told Vogue in no uncertain terms. “You gotta do something.” It’s a philosophy she recognized early in Pinault, too. Recalling an emergency that arose when the pair were still “dating secretly,” she remembered how quickly he stepped in to help secure transportation for women who needed it. “It was so easy,” she said. “And he said, ‘Oh my God, we need to do this.’ He cares.”
That impulse toward action is also what keeps her hopeful. “I see the heartbreak, but I [also] see the progress,” Hayek Pinault said. “There’s always something else that you can do.”
“Rita’s coming on!” her team urged—one of several attempts to coax her back to the party, evidently no easy feat for someone so engrossed in the work. This one finally did the trick. Waiting there were trays of espresso martinis (a worthy invitation to keep the party going into the wee hours.) Rita Ora had one last request from the evening’s mastermind to fulfill. “What Queen Salma wants, Queen Salma gets!” she declared before opening her set with “I Am Woman,” which was Hayek Pinault’s personal song request for the night. Hilton followed at the DJ booth, throwing a “Love you, sis!” in Ora’s direction before taking over the decks herself. It’s safe to say the girls were having fun.
