Elyse Walker’s eighth annual Pink Party was a gala event featuring A-list celebrities, a fashion show with 200 models strutting down a 48-ft. runway, cocktails, appetizers and a dance for more than 850 people. But, it was Walker’s simple and honest admission before the silent auction that accounts for the popularity of the annualevent that has raised more than $7.8 million for Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute.   ’I understand numbers and wanted to work on Wall Street,’ said Walker, who was a math major at Columbia University. ‘Then my mom died at 42 of ovarian cancer and I inherited a shoe store.’   Walker spoke of the bravery of her aunt Trudi Pollack, who was tested once her sister died and learned she had the similar gene and underwent a hysterectomy, yet remained Walker’s mainstay. ‘She helped plan my wedding and was there for the birth of my boys,’ Walker said.   After moving to Pacific Palisades in 1996 with her husband David, a real estate investor, and their two sons, Ryan and Kevin, Walked opened her first store on Antioch in 1999. The store was an instant success. Even as her business expanded to five storefronts, and her name became synonymous with fashion for not only celebrities, but also those who appreciate chic and trend-setting styles, Walker looked for a way to give back.   With the encouragement of Maria Shriver, Jennifer Garner, Jamie Lee Curtis and Sugar Ray and Bernadette Leonard she threw her first Pink Party in 2005, with a mix of fashion and 500 family and friends, at the Viceroy in Santa Monica, which raised $567,000.   Eight years later, Walker’s fundraising continues. ‘I started the Pink Party in honor of my mom and felt that Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Program was the right partner,’ Walker said. ‘I hope to raise enough money to help find a cure so other women don’t ever have to lose a mom, friend, sister or daughter to cancer.’   This year’s party, hosted by Michelle Pfeiffer, took place at Hangar 8 at the Santa Monica Airport, during a pleasantly warm California evening. The d’cor featured white suede couches, mirrored coffee tables and an outdoor lounge area featuring metallic silver furniture surrounding a 16-foot round black onyx bar.   Guests were treated to appetizers of lollipop lamb chops, Chinese chicken salad, macaroni and cheese, fried avocado and raw ahi tuna. The evening’s specialty cocktail was a pink grapefruit mojito.   As celebrity guests arrived, they joined Walker, who was wearing a Nina Ricci maroon dress, Ala’a shoes and a Tom Binns necklace, on the pink carpet. Those in attendance included Pfeiffer and husband, David E. Kelley, Leslie Mann and husband Judd Apatow, Marcia Cross, Olivia Munn, Frances Fisher, Francesca Eastwood, Giada de Laurentiis, Katie McGrath and JJ Abrams, Maria Menounos, Michael Chiklis and designers, Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco and Nicholas Kirkwood.   Among the Palisadians who supported the event included Pacific Palisades Dentistry (Julie and Phil Kamins), Karrie and Larry Barnett, Frances and Steve Berman, Wendy and Victor Coleman, Natalie and Steven Graff-Radford, Simone Sato and Jon Mankuta, Penny Kelen Meepos, Anna Sanders Eigler, Kristin and Baker Smith, Michele and Patrick Thibiant and Marlene and Roger Schaffner.   The live auction was emceed by ‘NCIS’ star Michael Weatherly, and included a five-night stay in Casa Oliver, a 15,000-sq.-ft. oceanfront home in Los Cabos, a one-year lease on a 2013 Porsche Panamera Hybrid, gift certificates for dinner for four at 13 L.A. eateries, and original artwork by Retna.   The silent auction included designer handbags: a pink Alexander McQueen skull box clutch with stitch detail and gold skull clasp encrusted with crystals and pearls; a rose-colored clutch by Chlo’ with Swarovski crystals; a red Lanvin purse with signature gold a chain; ribbon detail hobo handbag by Bottega Veneta; and a python print Gucci tote.   In addition to a Lanvin gold chain necklace, a classic Jaimie Geller white gold scroll ring was also one of the more spectacular pieces of jewelry available for guests to bid on.”’   After the live auction, models wore fashions from designers Barbara Bui, Brunello Cucinelli, Chlo’, J.Mendel, KaufmanFranco, Kelly Wearstler, Stella McCartney and Valentino.’   Once the fashion show concluded, the room was transformed into a dance floor with music provided by DJ C.C. Sheffield.   Walker’s tragedy of losing her mom has been turned into a positive: it’s a party with a purpose. Dr. Beth Karlan, director of the Cedars-Sinai Women’s Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute praises Walker.   When Los Angeles magazine (October 1, 2012) asked Karlan to name five women who have an impact on L.A., Walker was her first choice.’ ‘After the death of her mother, celebrity boutique owner Elyse Walker founded the Pink Party, a glamorous event that combines fashion and philanthropy in support of breast and ovarian cancer research.’
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