The sixth annual Grey Goose Winter Ball for the Elton John Aids Foundation was held at the Battersea Power Station in London last Saturday 10 November 2012. The big names of film, fashion, art and music came together. Liz Hurley, Emile Sandé and Gareth Pugh were amongst a whole host of big names to attend, but sadly the host himself couldn’t make it. Elton John replaced George Michael, who had suddenly fallen ill, at the new opera house in Perth, Australia, so Kevin Spacey filled Elton John’s spot raising over one million dollars for the foundation.
Several celebrities were asked to contribute to this event in advance by designing different things which were then auctioned off for charity.
One of the auction contributors was Ellen von Unwerth, who was asked to design a cocktail bar. Inspired by Berlin, Cabaret and the 1920’s, the bar was decked out in sumptuous golden and orange shades, and adorned with heavy red velvet curtains and two scantily clad angel figures. Her efforts paid off. The portable bar drew the highest bid of the evening at $79,335.
Ellen was also the inspiration behind a very special cocktail, “Golden Angel,” with a distinctive twist with a rare Pyrenean herb liqueur and a sprinkling of gold leaf.
Here the magical recipe of GREY GOOSE GOLDEN ANGEL INSPIRED BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH
– 35ml GREY GOOSE L’Orange
– 5ml Green Chartreuse
– 15ml French liqueur de coscoll
– 25ml pink grapefruit juice
– 60ml French apricot juice
Glass: Rocks
Method: Shake and strain over cubed ice
Garnish: A gold straw and fresh apricot sprinkled with gold dust
Ellen von Unwerth now does all sorts of charity work, alongside filmmaking and books but she still remembers how her career started. Modelling was her introduction to the fashion world but after 10 years she switched from in front of the lens to the back. Her career was jump-started by her first ad campaign for Katherine Hamnett and she is credited by many with the discovery of the lovely Claudia Schiffer. The rest is history, as we know. This December she will launch her 8th book called “The story of Olga”. Her success definitely lies in her spontaneity and her ability to really capture the moment
The clip for the Grey Goose Winter Ball “defining moments” takes us on a journey through Ellen’s life and work and also reveals her inspiration as a photographer.
