Parties of the Year, 2011 (part 2)

Katia Elizarova, Daisy Lowe and Amber LeBon all walked at the fashion show during Leon Max’s Winter Dance – but where were the other places to be seen dancing this season?

September, Fashion’s Night Out

Spearheaded by Vogue, whether it was Rodeo Drive or Bond Street this was the night that a shopping experience flipped into a global fashion party. In NYC there was Bieber-fever at Dolce & Gabbana and the choice of superstars were Miss Piggy at Opening Ceremony or Sarah Jessica Parker at the Fred Leighton boutique. At Coach, in London, Gwyneth Paltrow caught up with Daisy Lowe and outside the Vogue party at royal jeweller’s Asprey, Bond Street was as busy as Carnival.

October, Allison Sarofim’s Halloween Party

Sarofim and fashion friends embraced the economic meltdown and channeled the spiraling inflation of 1930s Berlin. And the clothes too. Yes, ‘Cabaret’ had hit downtown New York. Appropriate? Always.

December, Leon Max’s Winter Dance

The gilded flocked to Claridge’s for Leon Max’s Winter Dance. The coolest girls in town – Daisy Lowe, Amber LeBon, Suki Waterhouse and Katia Elizarova – shimmied down a runway in the Leon Max Spring Collection.

December, Miami Art Basel

A week of parties in Miami and all in the name of art. Dasha’s LV sponsored barbecue on the beach front and Paris-Paris and Le Baron night club pop-ups kept Naomi Campbell, Adrien Brody, Paris Hilton and Pharrell Williams cruising all week. Almost too much.

December, Roman Abramovich’s New Year’s Eve Party

The party that everyone’s talking about. And it hasn’t even happened yet. Last year it was A-list fabulousness and all about Demi and Ashton and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (the face of the Leon Max Fall Collection). Where would Christmas celeb-haven St Barts be without this Roman holiday party?

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Photo Credit:

Dave M. Benett/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

© Patrick McMullan.com 

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Holiday Editor’s Pick: Marie Claire’s Abby Kalicka

Marie Claire’s Associate Market Editor Abby Kalicka shares her take on styling for Holiday Socials with help from the Leon Max Holiday Collection. She suggests a chic dress for the Holiday office party, casual knitwear for the family fete and a stylized cocoon coat for the New Year’s eve party.

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Parties of The Year, 2011 (part 1)

Pixie Geldof, Josephine de la Baume and Mary Charteris were all at Leon Max’s summer party. But what were the other parties of the year?

April, The Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Billions watched but only a glossy 300 got the call up for the post-wedding ball at Buckingham Palace. Harry made appropriate jokes about Pippa and Ellie Goulding sang. Picture perfect.

May, The Met Ball

The weekend that McQueen had a global moment. After the royal wedding the US fashion pack hit New York’s Costume Institute to celebrate the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition. Gisele, Blake Lively, Sarah Jessica Parker all joined the sparkly army.

July, The Love Ball

The Lady in Red was dancing. Well, Natalia Vodianova had a lot to celebrate. It was couture week and Valentino’s chateau outside Paris was full of a fashion throng that included Anne Hathaway, Daphne Guinness and the Roitfelds, all there to raise millions for her Naked Heart charity. Look fabulous and do good works – what’s not to like?

July, Leon Max’s summer party

Mary Charteris and Josephine de la Baume – the faces of the Leon Max S/S campaign - were the co-hosts when the designer threw open his country house, Easton Neston for a rocking summer party. Pixie Geldof sang, guests wandered the lawns; it was 21st century cool meets Great Gatsby chic.

July, The Wedding of Kate Moss and Jamie Hince

London’s party set hit a small Cotswold village for the rock n’roll wedding of the year. There were marquees, there were bands, it could have been mistaken for festival. Moss wore Galliano. And did not appear for the pub lunch the next day.

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Photo Credit:

Carl De Souza/Getty Images

Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images

Claire R Greenway/Getty Images

Neil Mockford/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Holiday Editor’s Pick: InStyle Magazine’s Dana Avidan-Cohn

As Fashion Market Editor of InStyle Magazine, Dana Avidan-Cohn understands the importance of dressing for the Holidays. Inspired by the Leon Max Holiday Collection she reveals the most instyle outfit for the Holiday office celebration, family get-together, and New Year’s Eve bash. 

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Holiday Editor’s Pick: Elle Magazine’s Jade Frampton

Elle Magazine’s Market Editor Jade Frampton chose her favorite looks for Holiday Parties from the Leon Max Holiday Collection. She shows us how an Elle fashion girl would dress for the Holiday office festivity, a family fete, and a New Year’s soiree!

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The Face for the New Season: Katia Elizarova

Move over Daisy Lowe and Amber LeBon - meet Katia Elizarova, the new face of MaxStudio.

Who better than one of the models of the moment to face the Spring/Summer Leon Max collection? You might not have heard of Katia Elizarova yet – but you soon will. Last week she more than held her own walking with the new crop of Brit-IT models, Daisy Lowe, Amber Le Bon, Clara Paget et al, who catwalked the Spring/Summer collection when Leon Max presented it in the ballroom of Claridge’s Hotel. Katia was spotted at the age of 14 in her hometown on the Volga, Saratov, in southern Russia by the same model scout who plucked Natalia Vodianova and Irina Shayk from rural obscurity. She is joining the ranks of other British beauties, Lily Cole and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, as the face of the Leon Max and MaxStudio. “I’m so excited about shooting in LA,” she says, all long limbs and pretty pout, of her upcoming trip to California to shoot the Spring/Summer campaign. Let’s face it, she’s hardly looked back since that first trip to Paris to shoot the cover of Jalouse a year after the fateful scouting. “This is a great opportunity for me,” she admits, “the label is so beautiful and an international success. And with it arriving in the UK it’s the best time I could possibly be with them.” It’s an easy job to be an ambassador for a brand you believe in. “It’s a luxurious style which any girl would die for. My favourite dress is one that Leon made specially for me, it’s a wonderful, long, black dress, very revealing but very reserved at the same time.” The dress was debuted at the designer’s country house, Easton Neston, over a weekend house party. When not romping around Northamptonshire it turns out Katia’s a Chelsea girl at heart. Her social life revolves around The Botanist in Sloane Square and new-ish Markham.  For after hours it’s yo-yoing up and down the King’s Road from Guy Pelly’s NY loft style club for the SW3 crowd, PUBLIC, back up to another Sloane set staple, Raffles. But don’t muddle her up with any of those other catwalk-strutting model-actress-socialite-whatevers, Katia E has depth as she likes reading the Russian greats – she kept Leon entertained reading A Hero of our Time by Lermontov, out-loud in Russian, while they skimmed the coast of Sardinia over the summer.  For the English novel she loves the nineteenth century classics; Austen, Dickens and particularly Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. “I am fond of traditional England.” And it won’t be long till it’s fond of her. 

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Meet Me in Miami: Art Basel 2011

Art? What art? If anyone thought that the 10th incarnation of Art Basel Miami Beach was just about the art then think again. Name after name swum through the rooms and galleries. Some of our highlights included the Dom Perignon Luminous party where the heavenly triptych of euro-fabulousness of Dasha Zhukova, Olympia Scarry and Giovanna Battaglia was the centerpiece. Visionaire Magazine’s Art Basel Rio bash was at the Delano and hosted by Cecelia Dean and Stephan Gan. Daphne Guinness and Cecelia lounged by the pool while The Misshapes provided the music and Adrien Brody glowered. (Glowering is back in right now.) Back at the Delano it was at New York gallery The Hole’s party where things were kept cool poolside with the hotter-than-hot band Salem playing life out - but as soon as the drink ran out artist Matthew Stone led the crowd to the Paris nightclub Le Baron’s pop up at the Florida Room. Down there it was an intoxicating Miami mix-up of social, art and fashion; Tilda Swinton, Erin Wasson, China Chow, Eddie Borgo and Marina Abramovic. And as closing time was 6am the most essential accessory was a pair of sunglasses. Hollywood got a look in too, of course, with MOCA showing an indie film from the hand of Kids’ director Harmony Korine, starring James Franco at the Sunset Lounge. Franco was a no-show but there was, at least, Henry Hopper, son-of-Dennis, on-hand to dj. Korine went into a forensic analysis of what it was like to work with the Franco; “We talked about it, he showed up, and we did it.” And meanwhile what of the great UK art collector Charles Saatchi’s musings? “Do any of these people actually enjoy looking at art?” 

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Photo Credit: 

Uri Schanker/Film Magic/Getty Images

Venturelli/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

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Leon Max Presents Spring 2012 Line at Winter Dinner and Dance 

LONDON, ENGLAND

High fashion and High Society came together for the Leon Max Winter Dinner and Dance to benefit the breast cancer charity, Too Many Women.

As the Holiday season kicked off last week, the coveted invitation to receive was for the Leon Max Winter Dinner and Dance at the Claridge’s ballroom. The bright young things of UK society gathered in aid of the charity Too Many Women, an organization working in the fight against breast cancer. A vast winter woodland wall of scented roses and gardenia, a display inspired by the designer’s gardens at his country house, Easton Neston, provided the dreamy backdrop for the runway debut of the Spring 2012 Leon Max Collection.

Led by the newly appointed face of the label Katia Elizarova, the designer’s London muses including Amber LeBon, Daisy Lowe, Clara Paget and Suki Waterhouse, commanded the catwalk in a stunning series of dresses fit for every occasion. Flowing dresses fashioned from vibrantly hued silk chiffon and cream colored chiffon hand painted with vivid bouquets of water color florals, transformed the models into an ethereal troupe of garden fairies. Providing a subversive but no less glamorous contrast to the delicate chiffons were a group of black lace and silk dresses whose strategic use of transparent and opaque left just enough to the imagination.

“I wanted to show all my friends in London what I actually do,” said Leon Max. And they were all there to watch; fashion was represented with designers Nicholas Kirkwood, Louise Gray, Lara Bohinc and Marios Schwab, the social crowd with Amanda Sheppard leading in her boyfriend, rocker Bryan Ferry’s sons Otis and Tara, Dan MacMillan came with girlfriend Sasha Volkova, Rose Cholmondeley, Jerry Hall, Georgia May Jagger and Pixie Geldof.

Come finale time, the question on everyone’s lips was “When does the shop open?” referring to the arrival of the Max Studio’s first European store expected to open it’s doors late December 2011 in Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill. 

Thursday Night Lights: Leon Max Presents at Claridge’s

Last night in London – there was only one place to be: the ballroom of Claridge’s, the Mayfair hotel, where Leon Max threw a Winter Dinner and Dance in aid of the charity Too Many Women, an organization working in the fight against breast cancer. Guests had drinks inside a wall of flowers, a vast winter woodland wall of scented roses and gardenia, a display inspired by the designer’s gardens at his country house, Easton Neston. And quite right too. This was going to be a fashion party with a difference, bestowing a taste of old-school chic into proceedings. Amidst the hard-edge aegis of trend this is a sort of glamour that hasn’t been seen around for a while. “Do you like my art deco earring?” asked IT-model Edie Campbell as she arrived, “No, I haven’t lost one – I only ever wear one,” she explained. Now we know. “I want my wedding to be like this,” said Mary Charteris, “everyone is here and it looks amazing.” After a terrine of foie gras and pigeon and a filet of sea bass pudding was served – but it’s not every day you get to see a collection during pudding.  “I wanted to show all my friends in London what I actually do,” said Leon Max. And they were all there to watch; fashion was represented with designers Nicholas Kirkwood, Louise Gray, Lara Bohinc and Marios Schwab, the social crowd with Amanda Sheppard leading in her boyfriend, rocker Bryan Ferry’s sons Otis and Tara, Dan MacMillan came with girlfriend Sasha ‘The Volcano’ Volkova, Rose Cholmondeley and Jerry Hall, as well as fashion editor Sara Parker Bowles and the artist Polly Morgan. The doors of the ballroom were sealed, the lights were dimmed and the first Leon Max collection of evening looks (to supplement a well established Max Studio daytime line) to be shown on this side of the Atlantic was unleashed onto a quietly impressed Mayfair. It’s fresh spring/summer face, Katia Elizarova, led out a long line of the label’s London muses, all the hip models of the moment including Amber LeBon, Daisy Lowe, Clara Paget and Suki Waterhouse. Georgia May Jagger, on the other side of town, heard how much fun everyone else was having at Claridge’s and arrived in time for the last looks. “When does the shop open?” Pixie Geldof asked expectantly, referring to the imminent arrival of the Leon Max store on Westbourne Grove in Notting Hill, before she got onto the dj decks to really get the party started.

Contributing Editor: Richard Dennen

Photo Credit: Dave M Bennet/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images