Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering Raises More Than $2.3 Million at Spring Ball

Colorful gowns were everywhere at the Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s spring ball Tuesday night at The Plaza hotel.

A fashionable crowd turned up for this year’s event, which raised more than $2.3 million including more than $680,000 toward the advancement of MSK’s pioneering breast cancer research. Lauren Santo Domingo, Muffie Potter Aston, Priya Shukla, Sarah Wetenhall, Malcolm Carfrae, Peter Davis, Courtney Davis, Alexandra Lind Rose, Mercedes de Guardiola, Tamron Hall, Meghan Klopp, Joanna Baker de Neufville, Sai de Silva and Susan Magrino were among the guests circulating during the cocktail hour. LoveShackFancy’s Annie Taube described the galas as “the best event for the beginning of summer,” due to people wearing pastels and florals. “I’m seeing a lot of gowns tonight. For the first time in a while, people are wearing real ballgowns and it’s so fun to see. It’s the spring ball and people really brought it. Everyone looks color coordinated,” she said.

Several attendees like the society’s president Claudia Taylor Overstrom, in a purple sequined column long-sleeve gown, wore designs from Oscar de la Renta, which along with Graff and UBS sponsored the gathering.

Speaking over the din of conversation in the room, Wetenhall attributed the strong turnout to people being moved by MSK’s cause and the honoree Dr. Shanu Modi’s breast cancer research, an issue “near and dear to people’s hearts.” (Modi is advancing anti-HER2 therapies for breast cancer, integrating innovative liquid biopsy tools for earlier detection, and developing adaptive trials designs to overcome treatment resistance.)

Taylor Overstrom attributed the 375-person crowd — the event’s largest in a decade — to the “extraordinary” group of co-chairs and attendees’ interest in supporting Modi’s work and breast cancer research. “So many people have a personal story when it comes to cancer. Regardless of what type of cancer, it touches everybody. It doesn’t matter about your age, gender and socioeconomic level. Every single family is touched by it. So when you have a premier cancer institution that is moving the needle to help cure cancer … it makes a difference.”

Wearing a one-shoulder LoveShackFancy butter yellow dress, Taube noted how the retailer has a wide mix of dresses for weddings, proms and other special occasions. With pink being one of the brand’s signature colors, Taube said, “I love seeing all of these pink dresses even though they aren’t LoveShack. It’s still reminiscent, right?”