Tessa Thompson delivered a striking appearance as she joined prominent models and designers at the Franca Fund Gala held in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday evening.
The 42-year-old actress appeared in a glittering green gown, complemented by white evening gloves and matching heels, as she posed on the pink carpet alongside designer Pier Paolo Piccioli at the Museum of Islamic Art.
Gisele Bündchen, 45, attended in a black sequined dress accentuating her model physique, while Tyra Banks appeared in a black velvet gown adorned with silver detailing and coordinated gloves at the fundraising event convened in honor of the late Vogue Italia editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani.
Proceeds from the gala will benefit The Franca Fund, a philanthropic initiative partnered with Dr. Robert Green of Harvard University to advance research in preventive genomic medicine. Lady Amelia Spencer, 33, and Lady Eliza Spencer, 33, were also present in elaborately embellished attire.
Azza Slimene, 27, contributed an avant-garde element to the event, wearing a corseted ensemble with a long skirt.
The charity was established by Sozzani’s son, Francesco Carrozzini, following his mother’s terminal cancer diagnosis. As he explained to Vogue in anticipation of the gala, he sought collaborators who understood his mother’s values and her influence within the arts and fashion industries.
Franca Sozzani—renowned for her innovative and boundary-breaking editorial work—served as editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia for an unprecedented 28-year tenure. Her career began at Vogue Bambini in 1976 following her graduation in literature and philosophy from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
She assumed leadership of Vogue Italia in 1988, contemporaneous with Anna Wintour’s appointment as editor of Vogue in the United States. Upon Sozzani’s passing in 2016, Wintour reflected on their three-decade friendship, noting that it did not begin as an immediate closeness.#newsafro_
