Rolls-Royce hosted exclusive Surrealist Dinner to celebrate premiere of Charles Kaisin’s origami installation in London

Rolls-Royce hosted exclusive Surrealist Dinner to celebrate premiere of Charles Kaisin’s origami installation in London

Rolls-Royce hosted an exclusive Surrealist Dinner in London last Thursday to celebrate the Art Programme’s collaboration with Belgian designer Charles Kaisin. The event coincided with the premiere of his origami installation, inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy, the iconic symbol of the marque that has adorned the bonnets of Rolls-Royce motor cars for more than a century.

LONDON, 03-Oct-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — Rolls-Royce hosted an exclusive Surrealist Dinner in London last Thursday to celebrate the Art Programme’s collaboration with Belgian designer Charles Kaisin. The event coincided with the premiere of his origami installation, inspired by the Spirit of Ecstasy, the iconic symbol of the marque that has adorned the bonnets of Rolls-Royce motor cars for more than a century. The work, comprising 2500 miniature depictions of the graceful mascot, will be suspended from the ceiling of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London in Berkeley Square until Sunday 16 October.

The designer conceived the entire concept of the evening which encompassed all five senses and took the theme of ‘The Journey’, engaging with Rolls-Royce’s spirit of craftsmanship and conveyance in true luxury.

100 guests enthusiastically met a dress-code befitting the spirit of the evening ‘Black Tie with a touch of the surreal’. Once seated, the dinner commenced with the arrival of performers, one per every two guests, who served in all white domed attire, unveiling four types of perfumed waters including: wild Italian fennel flowers; citrus fruit, anis and mint; fresh basil; and hibiscus. In collaboration with celebrated Michelin-starred chef David Martin, Kaisin created the design concept of each of the five courses for the evening. The servers wore paper-folded origami structures as collars for the starter course and moved in unison to present guests with king crab, avocado, black sesame, and caviar encased in a golden tin.

Following this, Ellen Vanherck from the Royal Academy of Music in London and Eline Antoinette Vandenheede from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London performed a beautiful rendition of Flower duet from Leo Delibes’ opera Lakmé and Canzonetta sull’aria from Mozart’sLe Nozze di Figaro, accompanied by pianist Chavdar Mazgalov. After the performance, the singers revealed that their kimono-style costumes were part of the white tablecloth, which were withdrawn from the table as they exited in a performative fashion, adding a fitting element of theatre. Black cloth was revealed underneath in preparation for the arrival of the next course of a soup served in a chemistry-style flask. The soup was presented by masked servers dressed in silver jumpsuits, representing the Silver Ghost, one of Rolls-Royce’s defining motor cars.

Kaisin had worked with his team meticulously to produce individual booklets with a different letter shaped out of the paper using an intricate folding method, which were handed out to guests as gifts. Each letter on every book combined to spell out a quote from Sir Henry Royce, founding forefather of the marque: “Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.”

The tables were next covered with grass panels before a main course of black cod was presented by servers who each wore hand-painted panelled landscapes creating unique environment representing a fantastic journey. The finale of the evening took the shape of a wonderful dessert of golden bar, pistachio and apple leaf, presented by servers in magnificent, dreamlike cloud costumes with glowing lights. Guests were treated to a selection of Nyetimber wines – whose home stands just 20 miles from the Home of Rolls-Royce – throughout the evening.

The Surrealist Dinner for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars was the first scenographic spectacular that Kaisin has created in London, having organised concept dinners for patrons of the arts and luxury across the world.

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SOURCE: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars