postcard from (late night) london
A far-flung correspondent reports from the zebra-striped ottomans of Bungalow 8's new outpost:
There were apparently 17 parties on Monday night of London fashion week. A brutally edited cross section might have begun with Vanity Fair's fête for Michael Roberts at Tim Jefferies' gallery, Hamiltons. It was very friends-of: Mario Testino, Daphne Guinness, Elizabeth Saltzman Walker, Evangeline Blahnik, Robert Forrest, Hakan Rosenius, Ninivah Khomo and her spectacular daughter Delilah. Michael has made a fine art out of globally staggered launches for his books, usually accompanied by an intimate dinner. Tonight was no exception.
Intimates Jefferson Hack and Anouck Lepère then made their way to the party Hack was hosting for Christopher Kane at Bungalow 8. Since its soft opening on Saturday night, it's taken mere hours for Amy Sacco's London outpost to fulfill the same function it did in Manhattani.e., it's the place where the world ends up after hours. Inevitably, some will miss the space's previous incarnation, a gay bar called Brief Encounter, but right now the locals are curious to see if the big gun of New York nightlife can hit the target here.
The palm tree murals aren't yet in place, and the door action has the air of chaos that befits the hottest velvet rope in town, but mixology legend Ben Pundole knows his cocktails and, however much the inspiration might be the Beverly Hills Hotel's bungalows, I say the zebra-skin ottomans echo El Morocco, and that's a chic alternative to London's usual trendy holes-in-the-wall. Hoxton's crown prince and princess, Henry Holland and Agyness Deyn, were bouncing in tonight (after the obligatory wait outside), but you just know Bungalow 8 will be the hangout of choice for visiting movie stars and glittering young socials like Camilla Al Fayed.
Meanwhile, le vrai young London was at Maya on Dean Street for PPQ's party. In a word, unhinged! Johnny Borrell (is he still Mr. Kirsten Dunst?) played a set. I spotted a Ferry, an Osbourne, and a Geldof (plus a Sadie Frost ex with his model squeeze). The DJ mashed up the Cure and Don't Leave Me This Way. And in a low-ceilinged roomful of the city's It-est girls and boys, the breathtaking Edewor-Thorley twins, identical stunners Georgie and Kessie, were so über-It they would undoubtedly rock the world of arch twin connoisseur Prince Rogers Nelson.
Tim Blanks



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