More celebrities got on board 2005's Red Dress show for the Heart Truth campaign at New York Fashion Week, reports Phillip D. Johnson

Photographed by Patrick McMullen for the Heart Truth Foundation

he Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, returned to the Bryant Park runway with top designers and celebrities uniting to début the third collection of red dresses created to raise awareness of heart disease, the number-one killer of women in America. Since the campaign’s launch in 2002, the Heart Truth and its sponsoring partners have sparked a national movement to alert women about the dangers of heart disease. And although significant progress has been made in the past four years, most women still fail to make the connection between risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and their personal risk of developing heart disease.
   At a press conference before the show, First Lady Laura Bush and Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, spoke at a press conference. The First Lady endeared herself to this top-heavy fashion crowd—you couldn’t swing a Hermès Birkin handbag without hitting a celebrated fashion designer or two or three—by commenting, ‘I’m so glad to be here in America’s fashion capital as we unveil the Red Dress campaign [and that] so many of you wore red. We know nothing attracts attention like a red dress.’ (We need to elect this woman to be president, I tell you!) Later on at the Bryant Park Tents, Mrs Bush was the honorary guest in the front row, surrounded by Fern Mallis, Executive Director of 7th on Sixth/IMG, designers Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta, and the Today show co-host, Katie Couric, as Vanessa Williams, the multi-talented star of stage, screen and the Billboard music charts, hosted the one of the most feel-good shows of the week.
   As always, the star-studded cast of celebrity models is of the highest calibre, as were the designers who donated one-of pieces to this show. Phylicia Rashad, Tony-Award winning actress (A Raisin in the Sun) wore Alia Khan. In her second consecutive outing on the Red Dress stage, model Ujjwala Raut exudes sexuality in Baby Phat. Sports Illustrated swimwear model legend, Rachel Hunter drew cheers in Badgley Mischka, ’80s supermodel Christie Brinkley made quite an entrance in Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein, 74-year-old international model Carmen dell’Orefice, wearing Carmen Marc Valvo drew thunderous applause and cheers, as did gold-medal winning Olympic gymnast Carly Patterson (wearing Cynthia Steffe), Elaine Irwin Melloncamp (wearing Donna Karan), Paula Abdul (looking spectacular in Estaban Cortazar), Grammy-winning singer Sheryl Crow (in Narciso Rodriguez), and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York in Ralph Lauren.

CONTINUED

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Fern Mallis, First Lady Laura Bush and Oscar de la Renta. ABOVE, FROM TOP: First Lady Laura Bush before show. Oscar de la Renta, Maria Perez Arton, First Lady Laura Bush and Carolina Herrera. Donna Karan sketch. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York in Ralph Lauren. INSET: Tommy Hilfiger's sketch, for a dress worn by Lauren Bush.