Celebrity designers at Fashion Week San Diego; Fur Ball at SD Humane Society

SAN DIEGO – It was black tie and wagging tails this month at the Humane Society’s 39th annual Fur Ball Gala at the San Diego campus.

Guests arrived at the spectacular event with their dogs dressed in their finest outfits. Some even matched their pets.

This year, the mistress of ceremonies was Dagmar Midcap, who opened the evening by introducing president and San Diego Humane Society chief executive officer Gary Weitzman, who thanked everyone for attending and supporting the cause.

A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Judith T. Munoz for dedication and service. Jessica Manning was honored for making a transformative difference for animals.

Auctioneer Mark Drilling led the auctioneer, which featured items such as “Private Chef at Your Home” and “Pamplemousse Grill Dinner for 30.” Jeffrey Strauss of Pamplemousse Grill prepared the delicious vegetarian menu for the event. The Gala concluded with lively music by Haute Chile for a fun evening of dancing.

The Humane Society expects to care for at least 40,000 animals in the coming year. They provide safe shelter, lifesaving medical care, rescues from cruelty and neglect and more.

The gala raised an impressive $1.5 million to support pets and wildlife in need.

Be sure to mark your calendar for the next Fur Ball on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. More information can be found here.

Fashion Week San Diego

Fashion Week San Diego presented their 18th annual show on Oct. 4 and 5 at UCSD Park & Market in downtown San Diego.

Saturday night featured an international lineup, including the celebrity designer Lizz Russell and Hollywood’s celebrity designer Kiki Wang. Entertainment was performed by Divo Diva.

Gwen Bates, owner and director of FWSD, highlighted the organization’s year-long programs such as education, youth leadership, and community outreach.

FWSD is the first and only bi-national fashion week in the world and for the past 4 years, has been the only fashion week to show inside Sotheby’s New York.

Sunday featured the official Trunk Show, where guests were able to mingle with the designers and purchased collections straight from the runway. The afternoon wrapped up with the Designer Awards ceremony. FWSD has already launched early- bird tickets for its 2026 events. Stay tuned at fashionweeksd.com.

Upcoming events

Wednesday, Oct 29: Shop & Sip night at Giola’s Room located at 3870 Fifth Ave. starting at 6 p.m. For tickets, visit http://bit.ly/47dS2er.

Saturday, Nov. 29: Design San Diego fashion event…Pop Up and Runway Show at 629 J St. at 6:30 p.m. Tickets at http://bit.ly/3Ky8aQ7.

Friday, Dec. 5: Winter Wonderland Fashion Show & Luncheon, hosted by The Arc of San Diego, at the US Grant Hotel at 10 a.m. For tickets: arc-sd.com/winterwonderland.

Diana Cavagnaro is an internationally renowned Couture Milliner based in the Southern California area. Learn more about our hat designer, teacher and podcaster at dianacavagnaro.com.