Legendary snappers, Bert Stern, Eve Arnold, Douglas Kirkland and Frank Worth were all represented, as was Andy Warhol’s infamous depiction of the Hollywood great. We saw, close up, a captivating spectrum of Marilyns, from her sauciest to her most vulnerable – a striking image from Stern’s The Last Sitting being the most bittersweet.
While an omnipresent Marilyn quietly stole the show, other famous blondes were out in force including ‘60s sex siren and Bond girl, Shirley Eaton, a fully Monroed-up Hayley Hasselhoff, Made in Chelsea’s Kimberley Garner and naturally, the show’s curator and gallery director, Gabrielle du Plooy. Gabrielle sure knows how to host a party, treated as we were to Marilyn-inspired pink cocktails, delectable canapés, strawberry macaroons and an evening of gentle tinkling on a grand piano in the centre of The Langham’s deco-beautiful Palm Court. Divine.
Cocktails with Monroe was a one-off event, but Gabrielle and our favourite Hampstead photographic gallery, Zebra One will no doubt be planning a host of exhibitions of equal fabulousness, so watch this space.
Photography by Gemma Reynolds.