A community that works together is a community that works well. That’s the message of the Veiled Prophet Foundation’s Community Service Initiative (CSI), which teams up with VP Ball participants each year to complete local charitable projects. An important part of that effort is the fifth annual VP Fashion Show. Proceeds from the event provide funding for the projects, which include community beautification, building improvements, food outreach programs, care packages for those in need and more.

Even the fashion show’s theme, ‘Work Gloves to White Gloves,’ illustrates participants’ commitment to the community. They put on work gloves to perform projects during the year, and in December, they don long white gloves and formal gowns for the VP Ball downtown. This year’s fashion show will be held May 31 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Plaza Frontenac. Fox 2 anchor Jasmine Huda will be on hand to emcee, and Harriette Warren and Alden Pflager are the show’s co-chairs.

Warren and Pflager note that the fashion event is a very special one for St. Louis. “We’ll welcome representatives from design houses like Carolina Herrera, Lela Rose, Zac Posen, Zang Toi, Helen Morley and more,” Pflager says. “Some of the designers will attend, too, with collections brought in from New York and Chicago. It’s a rare opportunity to see their work in the same space on one night.” Evening gowns will be the focus, and models will take to the floor after the show. “Our guests won’t just be seated next to a runway the whole time,” Warren explains. “They’ll get to mingle, enjoy cocktails and view the beautiful dresses up close, which they wouldn’t get to do at a typical fashion event. It will be an exciting mix of interesting people.”

Pflager adds, “St. Louis has a great community of fashion-forward thinkers and builders. We’ve had a lot of support from the Saint Louis Fashion Fund, and we hope everyone interested in the industry will buy a ticket for this special event. And when show guests shop at Saks the first weekend in June, the store will donate 10 percent of purchase proceeds to the CSI.” Event tickets and more information are available at thevpfashionshow.eventbrite.com. “Most of the money raised comes from fashion show ticket sales and sponsorships,” Warren says. “Top-tier sponsors include Soft Surroundings, Swift Print Communications, Truffles & Butchery and our hosting sponsor, Saks Fifth Avenue.”

Charities that benefit from CSI include Great Circle, Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls, Missouri Veterans Endeavor, North Side Community School and Beyond Housing, among others. “When our daughters participate in CSI projects, they come back with such wonderful energy for doing good,” Warren says. “My daughter worked on a planting project for Missouri Veterans Endeavor, and she was elated about it.” Pflager’s family took part in a Habitat for Humanity build, and it, too, was a positive experience. “It was a great chance for my daughter to see her dad ‘walking the walk’ in the local community,” she says. “They still talk about the wonderful time they had together.”

The CSI has expanded its focus beyond just fathers and daughters to include the entire family. “Service projects are a wonderful bonding experience for the community,” Pflager says. “I can’t think of anything better than families pitching in together for great causes.”

The Veiled Prophet Foundation’s Community Service Initiative gives VP Ball participants and their families the chance to volunteer for important community betterment projects. Pictured on the cover: Troy Duncan, Alden Pflager, Jasmine Huda, Tom Donnelly, Harriette Warren, Bill Wallace. The VP’s ‘Work Gloves to White Gloves’ Fashion Show is May 31 at Saks Fifth Avenue. For more information about the event, visit thevpfashionshow.eventbrite.com.

Cover design by Julie Streiler
Cover photo by Bill Barrett

Pictured above: VP Fashion Show co-chairs Alden Plager and Harriette Warren.