Street Photography

Tuesday 8 October 2013

The Macmillan De'Longhi Art Auction 2013

Snowy & Pandemonia riffled through their wardrobes and selected suitable garb to wear for the Macmillan De'Longhi Art Auction at London's Royal College of Art.



Outside the RCA, P&S were greeted by a troupe of photographers, and after being papped, they stepped inside.



Snowy was pleased to see his favourite pal and socialite Basia Briggs there.

Basia the resplendent was decked out in a pristine white ensemble, consisting of a knitted sweater teamed with on-trend flared summer weight pants—a perfect outfit for this hothouse.



From one chic gal to another, P&S met Donna Air.

Snowy was quick off the mark and recognised Donna's Arjan B attire, having seen these items at the Arjan B runway show.

Pandemonia was onto it too, clocking the De Beers diamonds.

She whispered into Snowy's ear, "These gems give Donna's getup the extra sparkle needed to host tonight's gig."

Being early birdies on this occasion, Pandemonia and Snowy had time and space to check out the 67 artists' donated works, from the likes of Mary McCartney's "Sparkle Dress" 1/10 limited-edition photograph to David Corio's silver-gelatin-fibre-based Bob Marley print.

P&S were interrupted mid flow by Bjorn Stern of SternArts Ltd., who sidled up and said, "I've put in a silent bid for your print."



Bjorn's gesture made Pandemonia and Snowy feel like dancing, so they gyrated towards the gorgeous Laura Whitmore, who tonight was on the decks DJing.



Laura enlisted Snowy, and together they pumped out the cool vibes to put the crowd in a relaxed mood.



As the place filled up, the party was really beginning to rock, and rocking up a great look was Lady Mimi Adamson.

Mimi told Pandemonia, "I'm here to lend my support, and don't you both look good?"



Another fervent supporter of the worthy cause was owner of Hyde Park Stables Richard Briggs.

Richard had a word in Pandemonia and Snowy's ear and moved on. P&S recognise Richard as a man who knows about art and indeed a fine filly when he sees one.



And there was no finer one than the Briggs family pal Zoe Griffin, editor of Live Live Like A VIP, although tonight Zoe's mind was elsewhere, because she was missing her own adorable pooch, Zizzi.

So, Pandemonia passed Snowy over to Zoe, who gave S a cuddle and a kiss.

Then, she headed off to get her celebrity gossip for her online magazine.



Pandemonia and Snowy had barely walked four paces before encountering Chrissie Reeves, showbiz editor for OK magazine, and her chum socialite lawyer Sinclair Sellars.

These gals were here for a night of fun, and P&S enjoyed every minute of their company.



With a spring in their step, P&S moved on towards the live auction room.

There, they were held up by fellow artist Jamie McCartney (no relation to Mary).

Jamie, as art lovers out there may know, is that guy to hit headlines with his "Great Wall of Vagina sculptures".

Yes, Jamie's a naughty lad but nowadays has toned it down a tad.

And Snowy means just a tad, because his donation tonight was "Shakti," an abstract photograph depicting a naked female—an image S thought even grandmamma would approve of.



At the live auction room entrance, Pandemonia and Snowy clicked glasses with the seductive A-List nightclub host Antoinette Alexis.

After they'd checked out each other's perfect skin tone, they went their separate ways—P&S to the live auction room and Antoinette to the bar.

Seated, Pandemonia and Snowy shared a serious moment with Alix Wooding, the UK head of Corporate Partnerships at the Macmillan Cancer Support, who invited everyone to watch a short movie about cancer.

The live auction followed and raised £28,420.

Later, P&S discovered the silent one that continued throughout the night had bumped up total sales to £70,000.





No night would be complete without Katia Elizarova, ex Chanel model come actress, who's now acting coach, and her pal is actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the onscreen star of Sherlock Holmes.

Snowy, having met Katia, hoped that Dr Watson isn't under the illusion that Katia is a present-day "Women in Green" and pondered this as he and Pandemonia bundled in a cab off to a late nightcap at home.

photo/copy: Stephen Mahoney