BRIT WEEK 2013
The Biggest Brit Week – EVER!
Whether covering London Fashion Week, the Royals or featuring the Lyonheart limited edition luxury car, Wiles has had a love affair with the UK from the very beginning. So, it’s only natural that we’d be front and center when the annual British business invasion known as BritWeek came to our neck of the woods!
This year’s BritWeek kicked off at the end of April and Wiles was there for some of the chicest events of the week! From a Gatsby-esque red carpet reception at the British Consul General’s Hancock Park Residence, to an exquisite awards dinner at the Four Seasons to a reception at the legendary Christoper Guy’s Beverly Hills Showroom, take a peek at what we saw during “the biggest BritWeek ever!”
The 2013 BritWeek Los Angeles program included no less than 46 separate events. It began with the star–studded red carpet launch reception at the British Consul General’s Hancock Park Residence on April 23rd, attended by many dozens of celebrities including two former James Bonds: Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby, Lisa Vanderpump, Mischa Barton, Louise Roe, Bruno Tonioli, the Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as the American Idol finalists and then seen by millions on the American Idol show.
BritWeek, which concluded its 2013 program this past weekend in San Francisco, announced that this year — the seventh since the first BritWeek was held in 2007 — was by far the biggest yet. BritWeek began in Los Angeles as an annual festival of events highlighting British connections with California, with a focus on creative and innovative art, culture and business. It has expanded to Orange County, San Francisco, and this year to Miami.
This year’s festivities ended with a weekend extravaganza in Santa Monica consisting of: a Downton Abbey 1920s costume party at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, attended by Downton Abbey executive producer Gareth Neame and star Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Crawley), Sean Lowe, Mark Harmon, Fred Willard, numerous other celebrities and 500 guests, with proceeds going to Big Brothers Big Sisters Los Angeles; and two days of a Santa Monica City/BritWeek festival on the Third St. Promenade.
The UKTI BritWeek Business Innovation Awards, now in their fourth year, had a record number of nominations. The winners, who were announced at a sold–out dinner at the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills on April 24th, were Arup North America Ltd. (Design), Aventyn (Service Provision), Calhoun Vision Inc. (Technology), Films Without Borders (Philanthropy), and Pusher LLC (Marketing & Communications).
The BritWeek Design Icon Award went to Ian Callum, Design Director of Jaguar cars, at a spectacular evening reception at the Christopher Guy interiors showroom in West Hollywood, which included a show by Dita Von Teese and models showcasing her latest fashion line and a stunning new F–Type Jaguar roadster. The many art and design events going on around town during BritWeek also included an art, fashion and opera celebration given by Amanda Eliasch at her beautiful Hollywood Hills home featuring noted British designer Pam Hogg.