Celebs Dazzle in Tom Ford to Honor the Designer

“What’s not to love about Tom Ford?” quipped a scantily clad Rihanna as she headed into last night’s fifth annual amfAR Inspiration Gala at Milk Studios in Los Angeles. A noted fan of both the man and the brand, the songstress was on hand to present the American fashion designer and evening’s honoree with an award for his support of AIDS research as part of the celebrations—and was not alone in singing her praises for Ford on the red carpet. “I appreciate his artistry more than anything else,” said longtime admirer actress Rose McGowan, who admitted to owning at least seven Tom Ford tuxedos, while designer Rachel Roy recalled the first Tom Ford piece she ever owned. “It was a pair of feather earrings,” she mused. “I love that he has a point of view, and allows women to be equal parts strong and sexy.”

Host Gwyneth Paltrow and actor Eddie Redmayne were amongst the handful of guests who donned Tom Ford for the black-tie affair (which featured a surprise performance from Chris Martin), but with Halloween just days away, partygoers were as eager to discuss costumes as they were couture. “I’m short enough that, if I dress up, I get free candy,” joked actress Patricia Arquette, as Miley Cyrus dished on her taco costume and an expectant Molly Sims shared her plans to dress as a “pregnant mermaid.” And actress Michelle Rodriguez could hardly contain her excitement for the ghoulish festivities. “I’m going to a couple of parties for sure,” she said. “You get to play, and everyone else is playing too, so nobody looks at you weird.”

Thanks to her incognito outfit, Dita Von Teese also doesn’t expect to turn heads on Halloween. “Usually, I dress in jeans and a t-shirt and I go as a “normal girl”… It’s a lot of work for me to take off my red nail polish and get in a wig and the bronzing powder,” explained the burlesque star, who’s known for her signature red pout and perfectly coiffed ‘do. The hard part, however, comes when Von Teese goes out in public. “Last year I went to a big Hollywood party and I went totally unrecognized and people were kind of shitty to me in a way, because they didn’t know it was me,” she said, describing the process as a big psychological experiment.“ By the end of the night, I can’t wait to get all that beige makeup off and I just cant wait to be me again,” she said.