LONDON — Frieze London has woken up the city with ongoing celebrations, some related to the art fair and others that have just seized the opportunity to join in on the fun.
The day before the art fair began, Gucci celebrated the opening of its London exhibition of “Gucci Cosmos” with Paul Mescal, George MacKay and Salma Hayek Pinault in attendance at 180 Studios at 180 The Strand.
Gucci creative director Sabato De Sarno and Paul Mescal at “Gucci Cosmos.”
Dave Benett
111Skin cofounder Eva Alexandridis also raised a glass to the busy week ahead at the 111Skin Suite on Harley Street with Fashion Trust Arabia’s cofounder, Tania Fares.
The two women have collaborated on the Eye Lift Edit that retails at 150 pounds, with 50 percent of the proceeds going to Fares’ organization that caters to young talent in the MENA region.
Eva Alexandridis, Dr. Yannis Alexandrides and Tania Fares.
Courtesy of 111Skin
When the art fair opened its doors on Wednesday, art lovers Roksanda Ilinčić, Russell Tovey, FKA Twigs, Jenn Nkiru, Ozwald Boateng, Wolfgang Tillmans and Tom Rasmussen were among the first there at a lunch hosted at the restaurant Jikoni by director of Frieze London Eva Langret and Jefferson Hack, chief executive officer and cofounder of Dazed Media.
A surprise cameo at the fair was beauty brand Poiret, which is owned by Korean group Shinsegae International. The company acquired the Paul Poiret label in 2015 and relaunched as Poiret, but into beauty rather than fashion, in March 2021.
Poiret at Frieze London 2023.
Pierrick Rocher/BFA.com
The Poiret stand at Frieze was larger than life when compared to the surrounding art booths. Inside beauty products were featured, which are not yet available in the U.K., but a teaser into what’s to come in the new year as they develop their European expansion.
There was also art by French artist Laure Prouvost that took over the whole wall, as well as digital art projected onto a white wall.
Over at auction house Christie’s, Kenya Hunt, editor of Elle U.K., hosted a contemporary art party with drinks flowing from The Savoy and The London Essence Co.
Guests in attendance included Gaylene Gould, Aindrea Emelife, Bernardine Evaristo, Phillip Ihenacho and Katy Wickremesinghe.
At Browns, Amiri celebrated the launch of its exclusive capsule collection with the retailer inspired by music.
In the courtyard of Browns, tacos were served from FunGuys while a special performance from Zakia and Ojerime took place.
The big party of the week took place on Thursday night at The House of Koko to celebrate the fair’s 20th anniversary. Frieze partnered with Stone Island for the celebrations and English hip-hop musician Loyle Carner took to the stage as he was watched by Jeremy Deller, Julianknxx, Edith Bowman, A Sai Ta and Adham Faramaway.
On the same night, Galvan, OMR and Sies & Hoeke hosted a cocktail party at Louie with friends of the brand including Hunza G’s creative director Georgiana Huddart, Dr. Barbara Sturm, Zoe Zimmer and Lili Gattyan.
Anita Chhiba, founder of Diet Paratha, the Instagram account that celebrates South Asian identity, took over the Boss flagship on Regent Street with a roaring crowd that the street hasn’t experienced in a while.
Chhiba curated a one-off exhibit showcasing the work of 13 artists from the diaspora featuring digital artwork, paintings, photographs and installations up for purchase, with the profits going directly to the artists without anybody taking a cut.
