Laufey in HUISHAN ZHANG, styled by Leith Clark

The 4th Gold Gala: Best Dressed

The best dressed from 4th Gold Gala

Photos: @Sthanlee B. Mirador SIPA USA, Getty Entertainment @gettyentertainment, Rodin Eckenroth @rodinphotography, Araya Doheny araya_photo, The Lounge Booth @theloungebooth

Daniel Anderson

When I was five, my dad took me to Toys “R” Us and let me pick out my first-ever video game: Pokémon Silver. I cradled the metallic cartridge all the way home, my little hands trembling with excitement. But once I turned on the Game Boy and entered the world of Johto, I hit a wall—I didn’t know how to leave the player character’s house. I couldn’t understand the word “refrigerator.” I had been adopted from China not long before and was still learning English. But I loved Pokémon. I loved the colors, the creatures, the promise of adventure. So I kept playing. Through tears and trial, I forced myself to understand the dialogue. I clicked on every item, reread every word. Pokémon, without intending to, taught me how to read. And beyond that, it gave me my first fascination with names, mythologies, and the cultural inspirations behind them. Pokémon was my first light.

“First Light” also happens to be the theme of Gold House’s 2025 Gold Gala. Now in its fourth year, the gala remains a luminous gathering of Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander creators, leaders, and allies across film, music, tech, sports, fashion, social impact, and beyond. There was real poetry among this year’s honorees. Tsunekazu Ishihara, the Pokémon CEO, who appeared alongside Pikachu on the gold carpet; Ang Lee, the legendary filmmaker who taught many of us that quiet and nuance could be revolutionary; Laufey, whose voice feels like graceful gloaming, performing on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage while standing taller than ever in her role as founder of a new music education foundation; and the Los Angeles first responders, honored for their courage and constant service to the communities that make this city shine. These aren’t just icons—they’re beacons. The ones who lit our path, and the ones lighting it still.

And though the Los Angeles sun didn’t hold back, neither did the more than 600 guests who showed up dressed in full brilliance. The carpet shimmered with every shade of joy. In a time when so many felonious forces aim to extinguish what makes us radiant, the Gold Gala served as a resplendent rebuttal. As the saying goes, thousands of candles can be lit from a single flame, and the life of the flame will not be shortened. Gold House’s work aims to enshrine our community in an amaranthine afterglow.

From Pokémon Silver to what felt like Pokémon Gold Gala, the journey came full circle as stars walked the carpet, played our Pokémon quiz, and received prizes from a gacha machine. I was reminded that our first lights don’t just illuminate the past, they fuel our future. They give us our prismatic strength and our capacity to change the world.

Here are some of our favorite looks from this year’s gala, worn by those who show us how to shine, in style and in spirit. To those who remind us how light, in all its forms, carries us forward.

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