Kenneth Cole and Debbie Harry watch the events from a(m)fAR (Patrick McMullan)

Thursday night on the steps of the New York Public Library, a sea of familiar faces flooded the red carpet for the third annual Inspiration Gala--a celebration of men’s style to benefit the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).  Chaired by Kenneth Cole and Dr. Mathilde Krim, with Marc Jacobs presiding as honorary chair, the evening featured a live auction, runway shows and a performance by Scissor Sisters that raised over $1 million dollars.

Josh Duhamel and Hillary Swank presented awards to Fergie and Robert Duffy, of Marc Jacobs International, in honor of their contributions to the fight against AIDS. Inspiration Gala is one of a series of amfAR events that have raised over $3 million total for AIDS research.

With a Grey Goose Cherry Noir cocktail reception awaiting post-carpet, many of the notable attendees, among them Mark Sanchez, Rose McGowan, Cheyenne Jackson, Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa, Thom Browne, Greg Louganis, Ben Cohen, Simon Doonan, Jonathan Adler, Debbie Harry, Gail Simmons, Clinton Kelly, Kelly Bensimon, Sean Patterson, Larry Boland and John Demsey, rushed past inside to the Stephen A. Swartzmann Building.

We asked a few questions of producer Joshua Woods, who reported first and foremost that Simon Doonan was auctioning off the world’s most expensive and high-tech toilet.

“It took a bit for me to get onboard with that request when it came through,” he said.  “But the odd things give [an event] character.”

“The Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders wanted to come,” he added. “They couldn't make it, but we do have the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.  Many people have asked if Greg Louganis is walking in the show in his Speedo.  Someone asked if I would wear a wrestling singlet.  That's not happening.”

Mr. Cole reported on the red carpet that nothing had gone wrong, “yet.”

Despite Mr. Wood’s biggest fears going into the event: “Rain. Too hot. Too cold. No one having fun. Am I sweating? Why are tuxedos so uncomfortable?” he echoed his fellow chairman. “We should be good.  I have faith in the universe.”

Mr. Wood added that the event took over a two-block long corridor in library, making it “pretty much [the] world’s longest runway.” He explained that each year has a different theme for the runway show and guests. This year, inspired by the Olympics and modern sports, 65 models and 50 designers worked to pull off black-tie-meets-athletic attire. The 72 resulting looks were auctioned off during the dinner.

Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters got in the spirit with an ambitious set of bottoms: one cut-off and normal-length black jean spotted with white safety pins. Sheer genius? We weren't sure. The band goes on tour next week in Vegas--amfAR is just the start.

“I love playing parties like this,” he said. “We’ve been wanting to do it for years and have never been in the city when it’s been going on.” On playing in the States, he added: “We have a very sexy crowd.”

Many celebrities donned Marc Jacobs Collection, among them Ms. Swank and, most notably, Ms. Harry with a fabulously chic pair of black lens 2003 limited-edition glasses.

According to Mr. Cole, everything about the night was unique: “Tonight is really catered to the fashion community and it’s a way of celebrating how far we’ve come, speaking to a constituent group that’s been very supportive for a very long time.”

“This past year we have learned, for the most part, how to live with AIDS. There is no rational scenario today where people should contract the virus going forward," he said. "We know how to render ourselves safe, we know how to prevent ourselves from spreading the virus, we know how to protect unborn children from contracting the virus in the womb--but we still don’t have a cure. So tonight we’re going remind everybody about how far we’ve come and what we still need to do, and we’re going to have fun doing it."

“You have a lot of the fashion community that’s here to make their unique personal statements, individual expression, and that’s what amfAR does. We’re very creative and innovative in how we fund research initiatives, and that is why we’ve been seed money for the six groups of drugs today that keep people alive," he said.

Everything was donated, Mr. Wood explained. “The models do it for free.  The stylist, the casting directors, the tailors...everyone volunteers. It's really like a giant school play where everyone is doing it for the love of the cause.  Very much a 'Let's get together and put on a good show' kind of thing,” he said.

Though about as mysterious as her black-lensed glasses, Ms. Harry was on the same page: “It’s one of these things,” she said. “What goes around, comes around.”

What happens when you are on the ground with scraped knees, shards of broken glass, and adrenaline coursing through your veins? Well, if you are Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games, you might have to power through the hallucinations of a tracker jacker in order to stay alive. In the Boom Boom Room at the top of The Standard, where Calvin Klein and Grey Goose hosted the after party for The Cinema Society's premiere of the highly anticipated film, the stakes were much lower. And the celebrities so much shorter in person!

The first thing we noticed on seeing the young (and we mean young...Josh Hutcherson is all of 19 years old, Liam Hemsworth is 22, and Jennifer Lawrence is 21) cast is how much smaller they seemed in person. With clouds rolling in to partially obstruct the view from the glittery penthouse bar, the actors seemed as dwarfed and out of place in the unfamiliar terrain as they did in the film. (Mr. Hutcherson specifically, since he can't be over 5'3.)

Bypassing the terrified looking teens, we made our way up to the smoking lounge, where we knew we could find Alan Cumming holding court.

"I just didn't understand why she wouldn't leave that boy in the cave," Mr. Cumming said in his adorable Scottish brogue, trying to understand the plot of the film. (He apparently hadn't read the books.) "You know, in The English Patient, Ralph Fiennes goes and finds Kristin Scott Thomas in a cave, and she says, you know, 'Don't leave me!' And he tells her, 'Don't worry, I'll be back.'"

"He doesn't come back. Well, he does, but she's dead. And that was Kristin Scott Thomas he left in that cave," Mr. Cumming finished off. "This was just some guy."

After taking several snapshots of the gorgeous, alien-like view, Mr. Cumming excused himself to get more drinks. "Don't leave us!" We pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'll be back!" He replied.

Downstairs, we found Seth Meyers hopping through the crowd, forever smiling at some secret inside joke. Cheyenne Jackson was guarding over star singer from The Voice, Charlotte Sometimes.

"We watched the episode where you picked Blake!" We gushed. Ms. Sometimes had the distinction of having all four judges turn around for her.

The young singer grabbed our hands. "It was so amazing. But I had to pick Blake...he has the best track record."

Eventually, Mr. Jackson put a protective arm around Ms. Sometimes and led her away. Well fiiiiine.

"Call me!" She chirped.

Okay, so perhaps she had stumbled on the steps and, holding on to us, brought us both crashing down. But don't blame us, Mr. Jackson!

Mr. Cumming was still discussing the movie with some friends nearby.

"You could have played Stanley Tucci's character," we said, referring to Capitol's television host with the blue hair, Caesar Flickerman.

"You know, people told me that," he replied. "I've never read the books, but there's a role in it that's apparently perfect for me."

"But when I walked into the theater, you know, there was this crazy paparazzo, and he was saying 'Mr. Cumming, how do you feel about the fact that there are no gays or African-Americans or Jews in this movie?'"

The actor shook his head. "I was like, 'It's a fantasy film. Plus, there were a lot of black actors, if I recall."

"And what would a Jewish district look like, anyway?" We mused.

The evening ended when DJ Sean Glass bumped into us and sent our drink crashing into the floor into a million pieces. Whoops! To be fair, he was very apologetic, and Darren Aronofsky's BFF Gregg Bello, who was deep in conversation with David Krumholtz (from every movie, but most importantly Adams' Family Values) took the moment to look properly mortified for us.

"Darren went to the screening," Mr. Bello confided. "He loved the film."

A director who actually made it to the party was Doug Liman, who we hadn't caught up with since our recent profile. So what did he think of our piece?

"It made me really consider what I'd do for a man who saved me from drowning," The Bourne Identity director replied, smiling for the first time since we've met.

Also seen at the scene: Danny Strong of Game Change, Dan Abrams, Abigail Breslin, Mr. Tucci, Cuba Gooding Jr., Christian Siriano, Patti Smith, Penn Bagdley, and Mayor Corey Booker.

(Photo via Nick Hunt/PatrickMcMullan.com)