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Media Night At The Nasty Pig Store

Last night I dropped in at the media party for Nasty Pig's newly relocated flagship store in Chelsea, where editors and writers for Out, Advocate, Men's Fitness and others knoshed on cater-waitered finger foods and slurped cocktails while ogling the endlessly changing young models. Hosting the event was Paper Magazine editor Mr. Mickey and on the decks was DJ Honey Dijon, seen above-right with fashion spectacle and Adidas model Xander Gaines. Nightlife maven Michael Musto swept in at one point, making me feel, fleetingly, a shred of the downtown cred I surrendered when I moved to the Upper East Side a decade ago. Nasty Pig marketing VP Dave Hughes, who has actual nightlife cred and who has supplied mixes for us on JMG via his alter ego DJ Dave Huge, neglected to tell me whether the harnessed pig seen above is an actual handbag or a store prop. It certainly would be a conversation starter at Bear Week.

Beefcake Fire Island Fashion Show

Not safe if you've got nosy neighbors in the next cube.

Ali Forney Center's Shred Of Hope Celebrity T-Shirt Auction Raised $28,000

Just in via press release:

Shred of Hope, the fundraising campaign for the Ali Forney Center (AFC) presented by Nasty Pig, raised more than $28,000, 100% of which will go directly to the AFC’s programs, the organizations announced today.  Shred of Hope primarily raised funds through an online auction of celebrity-designed one-of-a-kind Nasty Pig Shredders™.  All 29 shirts put up for auction sold. Shredders attracting the highest bids included Adam Lambert’s ($2525), Michael Stipe’s ($2125) and Joe.My.God blogger Joe Jervis’ ($1775).

A full listing of the celebrities who designed shirts for Shred of Hope 2013 can be found at www.shredofhope.com. The campaign raised additional funds at a star-studded launch party held at the Adel Rootstein Showroom in Chelsea, NYC. “It was amazing to be involved in the Shred of Hope and have our kids receive the support of so many generous and creative members of our community,” said Ali Forney Center founder and Executive Director Carl Siciliano. “I am very grateful to Nasty Pig for their commitment and kindness to us. In my mind they are "Wonderful Pig".

I am so amazed that the JMG shirt brought in the third-most amount. Big kisses to all that put in bids for such a fun event for a fantastic cause.

Last Day Of Ali Forney Shred Auction

Today is the last day of the Ali Forney Center's Shred Of Hope online celebrity t-shirt auction, where you can bid on the original creations of Dan Savage, Adam Lambert, Michael Stipe, Bob Mould, Alan Cumming, Andy Cohen, Fred Schneider, and many more.  All proceeds go to help the homeless LGBT youth of New York City.  At this writing the bidding on my own shirt puts me in a respectable sixth third place! Thanks to everybody!

Bidding Now Open For Ali Forney Center's Shred Of Hope Celebrity T-Shirt Auction

Bidding is now open for the Shred Of Hope celebrity t-shirt auction to benefit the Ali Forney Center. Posing with their creations above are Scissor Sisters guitarist Babydaddy, Tony winner Jeff Whitty, REM lead singer Michael Stipe, former Ali Forney client Isis (who has appeared on America's Next Top Model), Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, and Marvel Comics illustrator Phil Jimenez.

T-shirts have also been created by B-52s frontman Fred Schneider, pop star Adam Lambert, Golden Globe nominee John Cameron Mitchell, rock star Bob Mould, AFC founder Carl Siciliano, and many others including yours truly.  Hit the first link, click on "designers," and help the homeless LGBT kids of New York City. Fly, my winged monkeys, FLY!

RELATED: Tonight Nasty Pig will host a VIP launch party for the auction. I'll be there trying not to have the usual fanboy freakout that happens whenever I'm around Fred Schneider. Lots of photos tomorrow!

UPDATE: The Shred Of Hope site has crashed under high traffic. You can view and bid on the shirts directly on eBay.

Swag Tuesday

Today's Swag Tuesday prize is two tickets to this week's launch party for Shred Of Hope, the celebrity t-shirt fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center.

This Thursday June 20th, Nasty Pig presents a kickoff party for Shred of Hope, an auction of one-of-a-kind celebrity-designed Shredder t-shirts benefitting the Ali Forney Center (AFC). AFC is the nation's largest and most comprehensive shelter and advocacy organization for LGBTQ homeless and runaway youth.

Thursday's event will be held at the stunning Adel Rootstein gallery space in Chelsea and hosted by renowned photographer and Shred of Hope designer Mike Ruiz. Guests will enjoy cocktails by Chopin Vodka, beats by DJ Chad Jack, and hot boys by Nasty Pig, as well as the opportunity to win special one-of-a-kind Shred of Hope items and experiences. Attendees will include Shred of Hope designers such as Babydaddy of the Scissor Sisters, Fred Schneider of the B-52s, and Joe.My.God himself.

The event is by invitation only, but the organizers have given JMG two tickets to give away to a lucky contestant; additional details about attending the party will be given to the winner.

Enter to win by commenting on this post. Only enter once and please remember to leave an email address you check frequently. As the launch party is this Thursday, entries close at noon tomorrow and the winner will be notified shortly afterwards. If you won't be in NYC on Thursday night, your winning entry is transferable. The online t-shirt auction begins on Thursday also.

PHOTO:  Chris Bilal, seen with AFC founder Carl Siciliano, is a former client of the Ali Forney Center, and now works as an advocate for LGBTQ people of color at Streetwise and Safe.

Ali Forney Center Announces Shred Of Hope Celebrity Online T-Shirt Auction

A galaxy of stars have come together to support the Ali Forney Center's Shred Of Hope, an online auction in which you can bid on original t-shirts created by gay celebrities and straight allies. Each of the participants worked with designers at the Manhattan-based fetish wear company Nasty Pig to create one-of-a-kind "shredders," which are sort of not-tank-tops.

Among the participants are activist and author Dan Savage and his husband Terry Miller, Tony winner Alan Cumming, Tony winner Jeff Whitty, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, talk show host Andy Cohen, rock star Bob Mould, MSNBC commentator Keith Boykin, Animal Planet host Scott Lope, rocker JD Samson, actress Ally Sheedy, pop superstars Michael Stipe, Adam Lambert and Jake Shears, and many more.

Via press release:

This June 20th trailblazing menswear label Nasty Pig will launch Shred of Hope, a fundraiser for the Ali Forney Center (AFC), the nation’s largest services and advocacy organization working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) runaway and homeless youth.

Shred of Hope is an auction of one-of-a-kind “Shredder” t-shirts created by celebrities. The auction will take place entirely online from June 20th through June 27th at ShredofHope.com. 100% of the proceeds of Shred of Hope will support AFC’s work to protect and empower homeless LGBT youth, and to help them in becoming safe and independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood.

On June 20th Nasty Pig and the Ali Forney Center will host a launch party for Shred of Hope at the iconic Rootstein Gallery in New York City. Nasty Pig models will walk the floor selling opportunities to win one-of-a-kind Shred of Hope items and experiences to benefit the AFC.

VIDEO: Watch this clip featuring Ali Forney Center founder Carl Siciliano to learn more about Shred Of Hope.

NOTE: Somehow yours truly was also invited to participate. While I'm not a rock star or an Oscar winner, I'm going to depend on my faithful flying monkeys to make sure that MY shirt auctions well. The JMG logo is on the back and everybody signed their shirts. The auction starts online on June 20th.