Miu Miu celebrate their new London flagship

Last Friday (3rd) saw the opening of the new London Miu Miu flagship on the corner of Bond Street and Bruton Street. An upgrade not only in terms of square footage (3x the original) but also, without question, in terms of location.

To celebrate the opening, Miuccia Prada hosted a dinner at Lancaster House in St James's. The neoclassical Grade 1-listed building, built for the Duke of York and Albany in 1825, was as suitably dressed for the occasion as the Miu Miu- and Prada-clad guests.

In the main hall as Zaha Hadid, Terry Gilliam, Francesco Vezzoli, Germano Celant, Mr Hudson, Mark Ronson and Nicholas Serota sipped their champagne coupes and nibbled the mushroom vol-au-vents, a pianist mimed Mozart's Sonata in F Major (he had been requested to hit the 'silent mode' pedal) and an actress sat at a games table attempting a large jigsaw - the pattern was a faithful reproduction of the liberty-style flocked wallpaper that clad the Miu Miu store.

Up on the 'piano nobile' (first floor), set designer Martin Childs invaded the state rooms, originally designed by Benjamin Dean Wyatt, Sir Charles Barry and Sir Robert Smirke, with a hand-picked heist of furniture and objects that added a playful yet slightly cryptic bent to the visual impact.

In the Music Room tables were set up for canasta, draughts and chess (antique games also doubled up as table décor) and huge archery targets created a popish backdrop. The Long Room was laid out as a library with one long table seating 90, decked out with writing inks, stamps, quills and ink blots, whilst lampshades had oversized type blotted on them. The State Drawing Room had a decadent oriental feel with terracotta Chinese Army figurines lined up along the dining tables and Chinese antique porcelain birds and furniture decorating the room.

The langoustines, saffron risotto, braised artichokes and spinach flan were prepared by Chicco Cerea, the celebrated chef from Da Vittorio who flew in especially from Bergamo, and served on an eclectic selection of china and specially made placemats, which like some of the terracotta army no doubt made it home in the signature pink Miu Miu bags as 'souvenirs'.

The State Drawing Room of Lancaster House decked out for the dinner with a specially curated terracotta army

The terracotta army on the table. — The terracotta army on the table in the State Drawing Room

Models in Photoshoot — Ana Araujo, Ronnie Wood and Jessica Alba

Card table in the Music Room — A card table set up in the Music Room

Poppish target in music room — The poppish target in the Music Room

&#65279;Lancaster House&rsquo;s Hall — Lancaster House’s Hall, with the jigsaw puzzle in the Liberty style golden brocade wallpaper from the Miu Miu store

Mark Ronson, Wallpaper&rsquo;s Nick Vinson and Mr Hudson — Mark Ronson, Wallpaper’s Nick Vinson and Mr Hudson

Printed lamp in the Long Room — A specially printed lamp shade in the Long Room

&#65279;Francesco Vezzoli &amp; Zaha Hadid — Francesco Vezzoli & Zaha Hadid

&#65279;Nicholas Serota — Nicholas Serota

Porcelain birds in Drawing Room — Porcelain birds in the State Drawing Room

Lord Mandelson&#65279; At — Lord Mandelson

A target in the Music Room. — A target in the Music Room with a specially made folding screen

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Also known as Picky Nicky, Nick Vinson has contributed to Wallpaper* Magazine for the past 21 years. He runs Vinson&Co, a London-based bureau specialising in creative direction and interiors for the luxury goods industry. As both an expert and fan of Made in Italy, he divides his time between London and Florence and has decades of experience in the industry as a critic, curator and editor.