While some mingled over wine outside, others, including Browne and Dr. Carla Smith, CEO of The NYC LGBT Community Center, moseyed to the famed second floor bathroom bedecked with Keith Haring’s 1989 black-and-white mural, Once Upon A Time.

The stylish guests in attendance were soon ushered to the dining room where long tables covered in silver runners, white daisies, and candles awaited. As the first course was served, Janelle Monáe presented the designer with his accolade. Dressed in a striped jacket that ballooned outwards, Monáe shared how they discovered the brand many years ago. “Folks were trying to get me to wear all sorts of things that were not interesting to me at all. And then I saw a suit. Not just any suit, a little grey suit. The proportions were wrong in the most right ways…it was like someone had bent the rules just enough to make you feel like they were wearing a secret. It felt lived in by someone who was oddly satisfied by life. I turned over the label and it read, Thom Browne. I went down a rabbit hole and I have never wanted to climb out.”

Monáe concluded by stating that Browne’s approach and The NYC LGBT Community Center’s work come from a similar place: “They both believe every person deserves to be seen in full; that no one should have to shrink to survive. They understand that when you build a community around shared values, you create something and that protects people—something that lasts.”

As trays of dessert were served, Dr. Smith gave remarks on the importance of donating funds to The NYC LGBT Community Center, which led Jill Schlesinger to facilitate a spirited fundraising drive. Monáe pledged $5,000 and others made silent donations by scanning QR codes on their phones. Broadway star Zachary Noah Piser also closed out the dinner with a crowd-pleasing rendition of How Far I'll Go from Disney’s Moana.

As guests filled out, many were inspired by the evening’s impactful tribute to Browne. “Thom is very grounded in who he is. He’s a guy who 20-plus years ago started wearing a shrunken grey suit and has never stopped wearing it. He knows who he is and is proud of it,” CFDA CEO Steven Kolb told Vogue. “I think we as individuals in the queer community see leaders like him who are so authentically himself, and it just makes it easier for us to be ourselves—and that’s freeing.”