LONDON – “We went to his studio two or three times before he even opened the door,” art maven Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld said Thursday night at the opening of a show of works by Richard Hambleton, the New York street artist, famous for his Standing Shadows series of paintings. “But I think (Hambleton) finally saw us as young and new and not any kind of threat.”
Guests included Vladimir’s parents – Carine Roitfeld and Sisley Restoin – Giovanna Battaglia, David Walliams, Lara Stone, Imogen Poots and Roberta Armani, whose company sponsored the show.
“He wasn’t a particularly artistic child – he was more turned on to football, and I never took him to museums,” said Roitfeld of her son, who’s already taken the Hambleton show to Milan and New York.
Meanwhile, in Belgravia, the Neapolitan jewelers Roberto Faraone Mennella and Amedeo Scongamiglio cut the ribbon on their first store in Europe.
“Who needs famous socialites? We’re here to host the party!” said Scognamiglio, adding that the next store opening will be in Capri, possibly followed by one in Paris.
Guests included Victoria Gucci, a granddaughter of the late Aldo Gucci. “I am loving that cabochon,” she said, pointing to a 30-carat cat’s eye emerald set in a ring. “That’s why I’m hanging around this cabinet,” she said with a smile.