France’s answer to TEFAF got off to a rollicking start on Tuesday, September 9, when a veritable who’s who of European collectors, art and antiquities dealers, and celebrities gathered to fête the 27th edition of Paris’s Biennale des Antiquaires with a dinner inside the iconic Grand Palais, which hosts the Syndicat National des Antiquaires annual fair for decorative arts and furniture.
The lineup of A-list guests at the gala soirée included French actress Juliette Binoche, billionaire heir Andres Santo Domingo and his wife Lauren, a typically leather-clad Peter Marino, well-to-do Russian model Natalia Vodianova and her boyfriend Antoine Arnault (the chief executive of Berluti and son of LVMH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault), and Hong Kong socialite Emily Lang.
Opening to the public on September 11 and running until the 21st, the Biennale will host a plethora of antiques ranging from reliquary busts and decorated cabinets to vintage and contemporary fine jewelry. Down from its 115 exhibitors in 2012, this year’s show did not have access to the Grand Palais’ salon and consequently reduced its numbers to just 89 dealers.
But that didn’t seem to detract from the opening evening’s overall atmosphere of decadence; French interior designer Jacques Grange reimagined the Versailles Gardens under the Grand Palais’ distinctive glass and iron dome—with some help from the famous chateau’s own gardeners—while the dinner menu was prepared by world-renowned and Michelin-starred chef Michel Roth.