(DENVER — January 15, 2020) – Mark Zunino will be the featured designer of the 42nd Annual Spring Brass Ring Luncheon and Fashion Show for the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. Zunino has come to define “Red Carpet Style” over the last decade, designing custom gowns for Hollywood legends under his own label since 1998, and launching his ready-to-wear line on QVC in 2011. Zunino’s goal has always been to make women feel like they are walking the red carpet every day of their lives.

This year’s Spring Brass Ring Luncheon and Fashion Show will be held on Wednesday, May 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Hilton Denver City Center at 1701 California Street, Denver, Colorado. For more than 40 years, proceeds from this annual event have benefited research and programs for people with type 1 diabetes and their families.

Los Angeles-based designer, Zunino, started as an advertising major at Pepperdine University in California before a chance interview with legendary film and television designer, Nolan Miller, led to a life-changing apprenticeship in 1985. Ultimately, that meeting spurred a full-fledged career in fashion design now spanning over 25 years.

Zunino learned the art of the couture design business from European-trained pattern makers and tailors. He was able to refine his skills and vision to eventually launch his own label in 1998. The experiences he gained from designing for such Hollywood legends as Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren allowed him to retain the values of old Hollywood glamour in his designs. Later, he reinterpreted that style for some of today’s hottest and most beautiful celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Demi Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Cox, and Brooke Burke.

With personally-drawn sketches and the finest fabrics from around the world, a Mark Zunino gown always embodies the epitome of female elegance, glamour and individuality. Each design is custom created from start to finish with no detail left unnoticed.

Zunino expanded his reach beyond Hollywood celebrities in 2011 when he launched his ready-to-wear line, “The Mark of Style,” on QVC. He has also designed his first of four bridal collections with New York’s Kleinfeld Bridal, and has plans for shapewear, handbags and fragrances on the horizon. Zunino wants his vision of glamour to be available to every woman seeking to express her inner beauty.

The luncheon and fashion show will feature Dominic Garcia, a CBS4 television anchor, as the emcee. Garcia’s a third generation Colorado native who has been covering some of Colorado’s biggest stories since graduating from Colorado State University, where he got his start in broadcasting.

Among his achievements, Garcia earned an Emmy for his work on a documentary about the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Today, you can catch Garcia weeknights anchoring CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and reporting for the 10 p.m. newscast.

In addition to the luncheon and fashion show, attendees will have the opportunity to bid on exclusive experiences, exciting travel packages, sports memorabilia, and more at the live and silent auctions. Event proceeds will benefit the Guild of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation to fund research, promote diabetes awareness and education, assist families in need, provide scholarships, and sponsor activities for children and their families. The Guild is a volunteer membership group of the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes with more than 300 members dedicated to the tireless fight to conquer diabetes.

The event is co-chaired by Scottie Taylor Iverson and Dave Barnes.

Event Co-Chair Scottie Taylor Iverson

Scottie Taylor Iverson is an agent, publicist, marketing consultant, speaker, and emcee who has won local, regional, national, and international creativity awards for her clients and organizations, as well as her own company, Swan Taylor Denver. She has won two National Newspaper Association awards and four Colorado Press Association awards for The Villager Newspaper where she is Community, Fashion & Lifestyle Editor. With passion, she has implemented concepts and chaired numerous fundraisers and fashion shows, served on and led dozens of boards, founded support guilds and has been blessed with several community honors and recognition from various organizations including The Villager’s Woman of the Year.

Event Co-Chair Dave Barnes

Dave Barnes owns Scenographics Denver, providing quality set design, theatrical props and custom constructed scenery for theater, TV, and special events. Dave’s charitable experience extends back over 20 years, whether leading the pack or being someone in the trenches. He set the precedent with Denver Active 20/30, chairing the Denver Polo Classic two years in a row, and taking the fundraiser for children’s charities to a new level. Dave’s philosophy is, “a volunteer is a professional without pay,” and it has motivated him in regular volunteer endeavors which include contributing time, treasure, and talent to The Cat Care Society, Blue Heron Elementary School’s Watch Dog Dad program, and Light of the World Catholic Church.

For more information about the event, visit https://www.childrensdiabetesfoundation.org/event/2020-spring-brass-ring/

Event Hashtag: #SpringBrassRing
Website: www.ChildrensDiabetesFoundation.org
Facebook: Children’s Diabetes Foundation
Twitter: @CDFdiabetes
Instagram: @CDFdiabetes

About the Children’s Diabetes Foundation
The Children’s Diabetes Foundation is the fundraising arm of the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, focusing on patient support, diabetes research, and public awareness. The Children’s Diabetes Foundation, located in Denver, was established by Barbara and Marvin Davis in 1977 after their daughter, Dana, developed diabetes at the age of seven. The non-profit organization is dedicated solely to the support of research in diabetes and to provide the best possible clinical and educational programs for people with the disease. The Foundation’s mission is to raise funds to support the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes and its world-renowned research programs, where thousands of patients with type 1 diabetes, children and adults alike, receive the finest diabetes care available. Thanks to the generous funding provided to the Center, all patients are welcome, regardless of their financial status.