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VENUS' ORBIT: Venus Williams swapped tennis duds for a slinky black Ralph Lauren evening gown Thursday night, to fete the launch of her coffee-table book, "Venus Williams," by Koto Bolofo, at London's Polo Ralph Lauren store in Mayfair.
The book features a series of shots of the tennis star by photographer Bolofo, who trailed Williams during her public and private engagements. "I did not want to photograph her in a stereotypical, banal way, packed with lots of action," said Bolofo, who also has shot images for Vogue and Vanity Fair, alongside campaigns for Hermès, Burberry and Alberta Ferretti. "For me there were too many celebrity sports images that lacked style, signature and an obvious intimate relationship between photographer and subject."
Williams certainly was pleased with the results. "I didn't think guys like this existed in the world," she gushed. "He's one of the most generous people."
Guests including Imogen Lloyd Webber and Tom and Amber Aikens joined Williams to celebrate the book's launch. The tome was sold exclusively at Polo Ralph Lauren's U.K. stores over the weekend, before being released generally today, the first day of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT: Paula Patton, Jordana Brewster, Shiva Rose and Rashida and Kidada Jones exemplified charitable sacrifice when they forsook the comforts of air conditioning to raise nearly $37,000 at a Saturday picnic in 95-degree heat. In the sun-drenched backyard of a private Los Angeles residence, they came together to help wallpaper designer Carly Margolis and premium denim brand Citizens of Humanity raise money for the Casa de Milagros orphanage in Peru. Margolis, who also creates print designs for Citizens' knitwear line, said the denim firm's chief executive officer, Jerome Dahan, jumped to help based on his own experience of being raised in an orphanage in France. As for Patton, despite her own urges to dive into the pool in a Missoni minidress, she bid the highest in an auction for the wallpaper that Margolis made with the Peruvian orphans' drawings and what the actress dubbed "life in a bag" (i.e., a session with a life coach, astrology reading, yoga and massage). Other guests who braved the heat were singer Robin Thicke (son of Alan and husband to Patton), stylist Jessica Paster, Sweetees designer Melody Kulp, Cherokee Inc. chairman and ceo Bobby Margolis (father of Carly), Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and hair maestro Ken Paves, who splurged $1,500 on portraits for his beloved pooches.
The book features a series of shots of the tennis star by photographer Bolofo, who trailed Williams during her public and private engagements. "I did not want to photograph her in a stereotypical, banal way, packed with lots of action," said Bolofo, who also has shot images for Vogue and Vanity Fair, alongside campaigns for Hermès, Burberry and Alberta Ferretti. "For me there were too many celebrity sports images that lacked style, signature and an obvious intimate relationship between photographer and subject."
Williams certainly was pleased with the results. "I didn't think guys like this existed in the world," she gushed. "He's one of the most generous people."
Guests including Imogen Lloyd Webber and Tom and Amber Aikens joined Williams to celebrate the book's launch. The tome was sold exclusively at Polo Ralph Lauren's U.K. stores over the weekend, before being released generally today, the first day of the Wimbledon tennis tournament.
IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT: Paula Patton, Jordana Brewster, Shiva Rose and Rashida and Kidada Jones exemplified charitable sacrifice when they forsook the comforts of air conditioning to raise nearly $37,000 at a Saturday picnic in 95-degree heat. In the sun-drenched backyard of a private Los Angeles residence, they came together to help wallpaper designer Carly Margolis and premium denim brand Citizens of Humanity raise money for the Casa de Milagros orphanage in Peru. Margolis, who also creates print designs for Citizens' knitwear line, said the denim firm's chief executive officer, Jerome Dahan, jumped to help based on his own experience of being raised in an orphanage in France. As for Patton, despite her own urges to dive into the pool in a Missoni minidress, she bid the highest in an auction for the wallpaper that Margolis made with the Peruvian orphans' drawings and what the actress dubbed "life in a bag" (i.e., a session with a life coach, astrology reading, yoga and massage). Other guests who braved the heat were singer Robin Thicke (son of Alan and husband to Patton), stylist Jessica Paster, Sweetees designer Melody Kulp, Cherokee Inc. chairman and ceo Bobby Margolis (father of Carly), Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and hair maestro Ken Paves, who splurged $1,500 on portraits for his beloved pooches.
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