Everyone wore jeans at the 2010 Joyful Heart Gala, which was held May 5 in New York at Skylight, the expansive SoHo event space. This year’s bold color scheme of pink and black was grounded with a bright fuschia carpet—provided by Karastan—and energized by hundreds of celebrities and guests, who contributed more than $1.6 million to fight domestic violence.

Actress and Karastan 2007 “Statement Maker” Mariska Hargitay founded the Joyful Heart Foundation in 2004 to heal, educate and empower survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse and to shed light into the darkness that surrounds these issues.

This is the third year that Karastan has contributed to this event. “Karastan is so grateful to be able to support this worthy cause,” said Connie Berry, director of marketing for Karastan.

This year’s denim dress code paid tribute to the outrage that ensued around the globe after a woman was raped in Italy in 1992 and her convicted rapist was subsequently acquitted because, the chief judge said, “the victim wore very, very tight jeans, [so] she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

George Stephanopoulos was the guest speaker of this star-studded event, and performers Cyndi Lauper and Eric Lewis provided entertainment. Guests included: Hargitay and her husband Peter Hermann, Maria Bello (host), Chris Meloni (host), Debra Messing, Hilary Swank, Marcia Gay Harden, Moby, Rosie Perez, Stephanie March, Mario Batali, Matthew Morrison, and many more.