ALEXANDER HANKIN reports from the Rainbow Room.
I step into the forever-glamorous Rainbow Room for the American Friends of the Louvre Gala. The night is completely sold out and buzzes with excitement. Mathieu Lehanneur, the designer who dazzled the world with his creations for the 2024 Olympic Torch and Cauldron, is being honored with the 2025 Coeur d’art Award.
The evening is inspired by the Tuileries Garden in Spring—especially its iconic tulip beds that bloom vibrantly all season long in Paris. The crowd is high wattage: AFL Chairman Christopher Forbes, His Excellency Laurent Bili, the French Ambassador; Cédrik Fouriscot, the French Consul General; Mohamed Bouabdallah, the Cultural Counselor of France and Director of Villa Albertine; Alton Murray from the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, Isan Elba, Anna Castellini, Zach Iscol and his wife the La Ligne fashion designer Meredith Melling, Chiwoniso Kaitano. France is also about fashion bien sûr and Sharon Coplan Hurowitz steals the scene in a trompe l’oeil Thom Brown tuxedo gown.
Thomas E. Moore III presents Mathieu Lehanneur with the Coeur d’art. “The Olympic torch and cauldron did more than just light up a flame. It lit up the imagination of millions,” Moore says to a visibly beaming Lehanneur. “His work uses art in science, emotion and precision, symbolism and surprise, whether he’s designing a pavilion or a lamp. He invites us to see the world differently, to think, to pause and reflect.”
