The Himalayas? The Alps? They’re both pointy piles of rock with snow on top. That was Elizabeth Saltzman’s irresistible logic for her choice of an Alpine lodge as the venue for the dinner she hosted in London on Wednesday night for Kathmandu’s favorite son, Prabal Gurung. Of course, it wasn’t any old Alpine lodge. Bodo’s Schloss is the latest addition to Piers Adams and Nick House’s portfolio of William ‘n’ Harry-endorsed nightspots. It’s so new that the place still refreshingly reeked of the pine-planked floors, walls, and ceiling. In keeping with the theme, there was schnitzel and glühwein and pretty servers in lederhosen and dirndls, and an oompah band playing chart hits.
Nepal? Hardly. But there were echoes of other chapters in the Gurung saga. The Spice Girls, for instance. Once an ardent fan, Prabal was parked next to Geri Halliwell during dinner. It was a pinch-me moment for him, and it’s one of his most endearing characteristics that he is endlessly appreciative of the turns his life has taken.
It’s no wonder the energy in the room was a little skittish. Saltzman claimed she’d worked 38 hours straight. And the guest of honor only made it by the skin of his teeth, due to a visa issue. We know Prabal knows how to party, but the last-minute triumph over bureaucracy sure fanned the disco inferno ignited by KCD’s Alex Malgouyres from his chairlift-cum-DJ-booth for a crowd that included such stalwarts of Saltzman’s clique as Gwyneth Paltrow, Camilla al-Fayed, Natalia Vodianova, Elle Macpherson and Cameron Diaz, fresh from the London premiere of her latest movie Gambit. If it was Prabal’s first trip to London in well over a decade, the evening also gave locals a chance to familiarize themselves with PR titan KCD, which has just opened a London office. As far as introductions go, the titan left a pleasantly pine-scented pawprint.
—Tim Blanks
Photos: Courtesy Photo
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