By night, Milan Design Week is almost impossible to explain – & without competition, last night’s hottest ticket was the party by Lenny Kravitz & Philippe Starck for Kartell. Yes that’s rockstar meets rockstar!!
It is said that ‘timing is everything’ & Milan experiences brim with serendipitous moments – none better than arriving 2 hours fashionably late to the party & running directly into Kartell owner Claudio Luti, who in turn, introduces his friend Philippe. Who ignored us. All in all, a perfect reception.
Outside the Kartell showroom the heaving mob vie for entry, & promptly  morphs into a mosh pit courtesy of several false alarms re the impending arrival of Lenny.. Assembled paparazzi jostled bouncers Рaiming for the chance of the money shot. Hectic, but fun!
Masses of VIP ticket holders waited outside in the mosh for 2 unsuccessful hours. And fortuitously, our late arrival somehow became perfectly timed  - with the one moment the red carpet was clear. Thank you Lenny!! 
Aligning design with rock is a smart move.  Claudio Luti - no stranger to business success Рpreviously working alongside Giorgio Armani, instramental in evolving the name into the super brand. Having owned Kartell for 25 years, Luti remains a factory owner who is inherently passionate about design Рcollaborating with the biggest names, as said previously, he always strives to push the boundaries of the capablities within plastic manufacture.
Kartell’s alignment with rock, rather fashion, was undeniably the ultimate show-stopper!!
So much so, the busy cobbled causeway outside saw traffic obstructed by the mob, who were glued to the shopfront, steaming the showroom windows – as if it wasn’t hot enough inside!
Lenny made us late for dinner at MIMMO, the newest entrant on the ‘must do’ list when visiting Milan. By the time¬†Zaha Hadid¬†arrived, & joined our party for a while, one might suppose that given our other guests shared the surname ‘Versace’ – they may have been the link to the festive connection. No. It was the ever-entertaining¬†Jordanian architect¬†OJ jume ‘e an, ¬†who once met, is impossible to forget!!
Later at a private party OJ was offering Karim Rashid¬†dating advice….. on & on, the stories continue …..
In all, simply just another night during Milan week,. If one were to plan their evening, one thing is guaranteed Р things will NEVER turn out as one would expect!!
IMAGES // Anne-Maree Sargeant
