For this edition of Friday Fête, Whitewall is looking back on the last two weeks, including events with Gucci, Four Seasons, Louis XIII, Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation, and Armand de Brignac.
On Monday, October 1, Kamiar Maleki and Champagne brand Armand de Brignac hosted an intimate dinner celebrating Art Week and Frieze Art Fair in London. Nearly 40 art collectors, curators, and other guests including Fatima Maleki, Jerome Neutres, and Olga and Eugenio Re Rebaudengo gathered at the home of Maleki—a five story Georgian townhouse known internationally for its collection of works by Old Masters and Western and Middle Eastern contemporary art. The evening included a banquet of the Maleki’s favorite Iranian fare, complemented with pairings of Armand de Brignac, including a special tasting of rare magnums of the prestige Blanc de Blancs.
Ludovic du Plessis, Martin Scorsese Courtesy of Louis XIII.
And on Thursday, October 3 in London, the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts debuted its Pop Down in Camden Town’s Hawley Wharf Basement. The fifth installation in an international series, the evening invited hundreds of Londoners for an immersive experience featuring an underground playground with a carousel bar, merry-go-round horses, a bouncy castle, and musical entertainment by Disclosure and DJ Fat Tony. Partygoers were also treated to drinks and whimsical fare by Four Seasons chefs like Anne-Sophie Pic and Florent Margaillan, in addition to Tony Truong and Sophie Larrouture, who created playful takes on childhood sips with an adult twist. The next night provided a second evening of fun, with the venue transformed into the Pop Down Cinema for a one-night-only screening of the 1980s film, Big.
Then, last Friday at The Whitby, Louis XIII Cognac presented for the first time in 100 years Maurice Tourneur’s 1919 film The Broken Butterfly. Inspired by Louis XIII’s century-long cognac-making process, the brand partnered with The Film Foundation to restore the silent film, which remained unseen since its original debut. Before the screening, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, complete with buckets of popcorn and a candy bar for snacking during the screening. Afterwards, the brand’s Global Executive Director Ludovic du Plessis took the stage, leading a Q&A session with Martin Scorsese, Founder and Chair of The Film Foundation.
Nick Champagne, Filippe Vasilescu, Randall Shu Courtesy of Louis XIII.
Last night in New York City, Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE held a private viewing of the short film Sitara in honor of the International Day of the Girl. Guests including Kimberly Drew, Bethann Hardison, Mabel van Oranje, and Yasmeen Hassan gathered at the Metrograph where they enjoyed a screening of the film by the Academy Award winning Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Vice Studios, which follows the story of a particular young girl, who represents the 12 million girls who are married off as child brides each year. After the screening, viewers were treated to a conversation between the filmmaker, executive producer Gloria Steinam, and Ariel Wengroff, Imke Fehrmann, and Laura Karpman, the film’s composers and producers.
And tonight, the Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation will hold its annual gala in the Grand Ballroom of the Cosmopolitan Club. In addition to celebrating the foundation’s 16th birthday, the evening will host three distinctive guests: Grantmaker honoree, American Dance Abroad; choreographer Nora Chipaumire, whose innovative work confronts gender and racial stereotypes; and the Mayor of Hudson, Rick Rector, who will be honored as an advocate of the performing arts community. Furthermore, all funds raised during the evening will go towards sustaining two arts facilities in New York City and one in Hudson, NY.
Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images Courtesy of Gucci.
