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"  When guests arrived at the Gstaad Palace lobby last weekend from locales like Munich, Mumbai and Marfa, Texas (just to mention &amp;quot;m&amp;quot;s), they added credibility to their host&amp;#039;s name, ASMALLWORLD. The bulk of the\u2014doubtlessly fabulous\u2014200 attendees at the annual ASW Winter Weekend are friends or connected through friends. The warm cheers that greeted ASMALLWORLD CEO and President Sabine Heller when she took the stage at the closing charity gala expressed the community&amp;#039;s camaraderie. Guests such as Lily Kwon, Kyleigh Kuhn, Tali Lennox, Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, Jessica Joffe, Hannah Bronfman, Michael Avedon, Sadie Frost, Michael Phelan, and Chelsea Leyland had met at the previous Gstaad gatherings, or had attended the ASMALLWORLD.net&amp;#039;s relaunch last August in another &amp;quot;m&amp;quot; city, Marrakesh. &amp;quot;There are no boundaries,&amp;quot; declared ASW Chairman Patrick Liotard-Vogt when he welcomed everyone on the first of two nights. That edict suited the relaxed crowd who happily frolicked on the Wasserngrat Mountain slopes during an afternoon of skiing and fondue, partied in the historic hotel that had once housed Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly, and fell for Gstaad. The last time that Lily McMenamy skied in Switzerland, she was fourteen and practiced faux falls, hoping to win her crush-worthy ski instructor&amp;#039;s attention. Teresa Missoni, who had never been to Switzerland before becoming a regular ASW attendee, appointed the Gstaad Palace as her one of her &amp;quot;favorite hotels on earth.&amp;quot; (This reporter feels the same about the equally historic Le Grand Bellevue hotel, Gstaad, where ASMALLWORLD guests were the first to experience its witty and chic total refurbishment.)  Location is significant for ASMALLWORLD, which began as a private social networking site in 2004, relaunched last year, and has become an online asset to globetrotters who activate its app to meet like-minded members and enjoy curated activities and opportunities in the Member Privileges&amp;#039; Program. The new incarnation of ASMALLWORLD puts the ASMALLWORLD Foundation, the site&amp;#039;s charitable initiative at the center of its activities, including the Gstaad gathering. Arizona Muse made a second trip to Gstaad because the Swiss Alps remind her of the mountains of her native New Mexico, but also because she appreciates that ASMALLWORLD is &amp;quot;so generous and fun.&amp;quot; Sponsors including Bucherer, Missoni, and Kittitian Hill, the entirely sustainable luxury resort in St. Kitts which provided prizes for the raffle, held up the model&amp;#039;s assessment. Tear-drop-shaped diamond earrings, a necklace and another pair of earrings that resembled planets of pears enveloped in diamond ribbons were claimed by guests who discovered pearls inside the amuse bouche at the black tie gala dinner. But the amusements and gifts were not the evening&amp;#039;s main event. That was when Freida Pinto took the stage. Her mission was presenting the important work done by Plan International USA&amp;#039;s Because I Am A Girl campaign to educate the more than sixty-six million girls in countries without access to schooling. Thanking Grey Goose for sponsoring the bar, Pinto promised the crowd, &amp;quot;You may wake up tomorrow wondering &amp;#039;what did I do&amp;#039; or even &amp;#039;who did I do,&amp;#039; but you will never regret a drunk donation tonight.&amp;quot; She urged everyone to contribute $100, which could pay for an egg-white omelet and toast at a Beverly Hills hotel, or provide a year&amp;#039;s education for a girl in Sierra Leone.  &amp;quot;There are so many beautiful, successful, and well-spoken women here,&amp;quot; announced Pinto, &amp;quot;and there are the men who support and admire these women. This is what Plan International USA&amp;#039;s Because I Am A Girl campaign wants to help happen in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and India.&amp;quot; By condensing the world&amp;#039;s boundaries, ASW&amp;#039;s fundraising event began realizing that goal in Gstaad when Pinto accepted $200,000 of donations for the important cause. Find out more at Because I Am A Girl. Plus, see all of the chic photos from ASMALLWORLD weekend in Gstaad. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/reviews/a1339/gstaad-asmallworld-2013/>