You Gotta Have Heart
Undeterred by a Fire Drill, Londoners Support Natalia Vodianova's Charity
The Love Ball, a fundraiser for Natalia Vodianova's Naked Heart Foundation, which builds playgrounds in underprivileged parts of Russia, debuted in London on Tuesday. And in a way that neither the supermodel nor her co-host, British Harper's Bazaar editor in chief Lucy Yeomans, could quite have anticipated, it was a night that no one will likely forget. Moments after all the VIPs arrived—perhaps that should be VVIPs, as in the likes of Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera, and Kate Moss—the fire alarm went off due to an overactive smoke machine. That sent everyone (yes, even you, DVF) outside to the parking lot. "Grab that bottle of vodka," Hilary Alexander announced to her table, not entirely in jest.
About half an hour later—and for some, after a drink across the street—everyone made it back to their seats, and the program could begin. "Is it something I said?" Ruby Wax joked to the crowd. "I came on, and you were all gone." Her job was to announce the keynote speaker: Ms. Vodianova, who in turn introduced the former Cat Stevens, Mr. Yusuf Islam, for a performance of a song that the model said had moved her to establish her charity. And then it was back to Wax, who told the audience that every caviar egg they ate meant another kid wouldn't have a swing. "She is my neighbor in the country," Moss noted. "And she is just so naughty."
Next up in the program were live performances from Leona Lewis and then Paloma Faith, both of which encouraged the attendees to make generous pledges to the Naked Heart cause. "I thought to myself, what [was it] I needed as an underprivileged Russian girl?" Vodianova explained. "Food? Toys? Clothes? All those things pass, but what I realized I lacked was playing like a normal kid. So now I am passionate about my playgrounds."
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