LDF: the unofficial gala dinner

By Suzanne Trocmé

I seem to be seeing more people than product this festival, but frankly that is how we at Wallpaper find out what happens next. Day 2 was a quiet affair with not much going on, apart from the opening parties themselves, but I managed to squeeze in a lot of meetings with the international designers in town for the occasion.

Click here for Suzanne's party pictures

The official LDF gala dinner was to be held at Phillips de Pury auction house and, unless my invitation was delayed due to a recent house move, I was not invited. It seems my friend, Marcus Fairs from Dezeen, was actively disinvited by LDF organisers having been invited by Veuve Cliquot to take a seat at their table, so I felt in good company. There had been a journalistic fracas, Marcus tells me, a couple of years back, and grudges are still held (not by him).

Most out of towners were not invited either so my husband and I decided to form a breakaway group and dine at my place - our own gala dinner in my kitchen. It was, nevertheless a most enjoyable evening as we cooked up a storm using all the best ingredients from a short shopping trip to the local Pimlico (just a stone's throw from official partygoers at Phillips de Pury) cheese shop, Poilane on Elizabeth Street, and the wet fish market. For the first time in years, team Trocmé produced something on time and on budget.

First to arrive was Jerry Helling, Vice President and Creative Director of the US furniture firm Bernhardt Design. He is the genius who commissions designers and artists to create collections for both the American and European markets and his stable of designers include the best of the best: Jaime Hayon, Fabien Baron, hansandfranz, Pearson Lloyd, Culdesac and Paris-based Arik Levy, who was second to arrive, followed quickly by Gaye Cevikel from Gaia and Gino (she is Gaia and Gino is her dog, who sadly stayed home).

Gaye lives in and works out of Istanbul and her firm produces the most exquisite tabletop objects such as vases and centre-pieces again created by famed designers including Yves Behar, Levy and Hayon, and sold at the top design emporiums, Moss in New York and Villa Moda.

It became a very international affair with the arrival of Americans Gillian Gordon (film-maker, academic and shrink) and husband Bob Crozier who is a top dog at Forbes. Architect John Pawson drove over with his designer wife, Catherine, and we metaphorically chewed the fat for hours, never making it out of the kitchen.

Links began to reveal themselves and the early history of Wallpaper* magazine, it very soon appeared, was very much in the room. Jerry Helling had been the first international furniture advertiser to appear in the pages pf Wallpaper 11 years ago – he was prescient enough to see the magazine had value - and Bob Crozier, who at the time was with Time Warner, was the man who actually decided to buy the magazine, issue 4, for the media giant from our founding editor Tyler Brulé.

We all began to realise how long we had known each other and how long in the design tooth we were becoming (I began early on too – in fact remain the longest standing member of the team and the most senior - age-wise if nothing else).

Our very own launch party was like a salon of yesteryear where personalities bounced off walls, the ricochet of ideas audible to all. Between us we may have changed the shape of design for years to come out of a simple off-piste occasion.

Late to bed but ready for a busy day ahead – 100% Design seminar at Earls Court and judging the Bombay Sapphire Award, which for me, and for Arik Levy, means an early start sampling the perfect martini, stirred never shaken, at 10am.

19 September 2008 | Design