Charity Bazaar 2010
Harper’s Bazaar and the British concierge club Quintessentially held the Charity Bazaar 2010 annual Christmas auction on December 7 in the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom in Moscow.
For the third time, Harper’s Bazaar – a publication with an international reputation, history and traditions – united the efforts of various charities to raise funds and focus attention on support for the development of children and youth. This year, Natalia Vodianova’s Naked Heart Foundation joined traditional Charity Bazaar participants Peace Planet, Lifeline and International Programs Management.
Harper’s Bazaar Editor-in-Chief Daria Veledeeva welcomed guests and screened a film about Charity Bazaar that was produced by the project’s charitable foundation members and the World Fashion Channel. Those attending and supporting the project included actresses Lyudmila Gruchenko and Ingeborga Dapkunaite, film director Fyodor Bondarchuk with Hello! Editor-in-Chief Svetlana Bondarchuk, designers Igor Chapurin, Alexander Terekhov, Yelena Yarmak, Alyona Akhmadullina, singer Natalia Ionova, television hostess Yulia Bordoviskikh and Oxana Lavrentyeva, art dealer and curator Sophia Trotsenko and many others. The evening ended with a chamber concert by Emina Agalarova.
Auction hosts actor Igor Vernik and television hostess Sofiko Shevardnadze presented 12 lots from Piaget, Chanel, Leviev, Versace Unique, Je t’aime, jewelry houses Golkonda and Soho Jewelry, Helen Yarmak, Alex Soldier, Podium Jewelry, Stephen Webster and Prima Exclusive. Two special lots were also up for bids: Natalia Vodianova issued an invitation to fashion shows by Dior, Loewe and Givenchy at Paris Fashion Week and to a wine cellar excursion where the best French champagne is stored. Harper’s Bazaar offered a chance to take part in a fashion shoot under the direction of fashion department director Natalia Alaverdyan.
The most intriguing aspect of the evening was the lot from Harper’s Bazaar. As the bids grew, guests began adding their own offers: an invitation to dinner for eight at the Tverbul restaurant, a dinner at home prepared by the Sumosan restaurant chef, shoes by Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, a one-year membership to the Royal Club fitness center in the Ukraine hotel and a home concert by the group Tokyo. Svetlana Bondarchuk offered a photo shoot in Hello! Magazine, Yulia Bordovskikh proposed the same in Bosco magazine and Alyona Peneva offered a photo shoot in Grazia magazine. As a result, the winning bid for the Harper’s Bazaar lot totaled 5.2 million rubles ($169,000).
The J. Mendel boutique, fashion partner to the auction, presented the evening’s hostess Sofiko Shevarnadze with a dress by French designer Jilles Mendel made especially for the Charity Bazaar. Evening gowns and furs from the J. Mendel spring/summer 2011 collection were on display in the Ritz-Carlton Ballroom. Also for the Charity Bazaar, event partner Martini Asti gave the Lifeline foundation a Christmas tree with garlands created by the AES+F art collective.
The more than 14 million rubles ($456,000) collected at the Charity Bazaar 2010 auction will be donated to the charities participating in the project. The Empire auction house provided their services for the bidding.
