LIBERAL ARTS: It’s Frieze Art season in London, which brings creative spirits to the fore and focuses minds on color, shape, texture and rhythm.
Indeed, it’s not every dinner party where a company director pops up from the table to recite a poem, but that’s just what Edun’s Gary Jermyn did on Monday night at the dinner co-hosted by the brand and Matchesfashion.com at Rosenfeld Porcini Gallery in Fitzrovia.
After the speeches were over, Jermyn, who works closely with Edun’s founder Ali Hewson, recited a poem by fellow Irishman William Butler Yeats, “The Song of Wandering Aengus,” to co-hosts Tom and Ruth Chapman, and guests Dasha Zhukova, Agyness Deyn, Polly Morgan, Noel Gallagher, Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis, Valeria Napoleone, Michael Avedon, Daisy Lowe and Tania Fares.
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“I’m a poet trapped in the body of an accountant,” said Jermyn, who’s also written poetry that’s appeared on scarves by Edun.
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Earlier that evening, guests had the chance to gaze at a series of black-and-white chiaroscuro portraits called “Edun by Avedon: Portraits of Edun AW15 by Michael Avedon.” They will go on display this week at matchesfashion.com’s Marylebone store.
“Michael had just one-and-a-half minutes to shoot each model backstage before she went onto the runway,” said Hewson, pointing to the strangely serene images. “Look at the stillness — and the depth. He’s only 24 years old and a real talent.”
Avedon, grandson of Richard Avedon, said his favorite image was of a model with goose bumps visible on her arm. “You can sense the excitement, the model’s nerves. There’s a theatrical presence to the image,” he said.
Earlier in the evening, at Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, Tommy Hilfiger and Dylan Jones co-hosted a contemporary art party showcasing works such as Warhol’s “Vesuvius”; Basquiat’s “Untitled (The Black Athlete)”; Takashi Murakami’s “Homage to IKB,” and Ai Weiwei’s “Grapes.”
“I’m a collector and I am obsessed with contemporary art — and particularly some of the pieces they’re showing here tonight,” said Hilfiger. “I love the Lichtenstein hotdog and then I saw some of the Picassos that were a part of the photography collection. Honestly, I’m in my element and in my zone.”
The designer was on a flash visit to London. “I’m going back to New York to celebrate a friend’s wedding anniversary tomorrow — so I’m here for one day,” he added.
Guests included Christopher Raeburn, James Long, Lou Dalton, Sir Philip Green, Lara Mullen and Eric Underwood.