Hot charity ticket including appearance by Alain Delon
What a crowd! The hot Greek charity circuit reached new heights on Tuesday evening, as an ensemble of glamorous local and foreign folk gathered at the Ekali Club for a gala fashion show, followed by three-course dinner and, above all, a guest appearance by Alain Delon. The French star arrived in Athens accompanied by his eldest son, Anthony (who in turn was accompanied by model Estelle Hallyday), in spite of his being involved in a car accident prior to the event. Organized by Penelope Zagoras, a Cretan-born, Paris-based designer who recently established her label in Athens, the evening was in aid of MDA Hellas, the Greek branch of a global association mobilized in 185 countries which supports victims of muscular dystrophy. The proceeds of Tuesday’s event will go toward the establishment of the first Greek unit specialized in muscular dystrophy disorders. What could have been a rather straightforward event, with the usual socialite suspects mixing and matching, turned into a peculiar gathering of A-list Greek guests (including Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos) observing their foreign counterparts from afar. Besides Delon, the list of foreign guests read like Point de Vue-Image du Monde society pages and included Prince Faycal Bey of Tunisia, Prince and Princess de Bourbon-Parme, fashion publicist Princess Anne de Bourbon de Siciles, the Count and Duchess d’Uzes, renowned pianist Princess Caroline Murat and her daughter, Princess Deborah Murat Najar, the handsome Prince Emanuel Filiberto di Savoia, Countess Eleonore de la Rochefoucault, and Monique Raymond – a close collaborator of designer Pierre Cardin – as well as actress Dolores Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin. During their stay in Greece, the guests were hosted at the luxurious Lagonissi Grand Resort. As for the fashion show, models clad in fountains of tulle and satin swayed to the tunes of Dalida and Vangelis’s «Mythodea,» and though Zagoras’s designs are not going to bring fashion forward, her loyal clientele – which includes Malay and Thai royalty – will find above-the-knee suits as well as the label’s signature drapes. For Zagoras, the moment of triumph arrived as Alain Delon stepped up to present her with a bouquet of flowers at the end of the colorful fashion show. The evening’s entertainment was assured by American-born, Paris-based singer Jeane Manson, who managed to stay focused on her performance just as guests settled to their dinner of fish in Champagne sauce, followed by beef medallions and dark chocolate gateau. Meanwhile, members of the audience were left pondering whether the event belonged to a society which, as far as this country is concerned, is no more.
