As part of the world premiere for the new Mayfair and Camden special models, the now 75-year-old Mary Quant " British style icon and inventor of the miniskirt " disclosed a long-guarded secret: the designation “mini-skirt is not derived from the celebrated brevity of the garment; it was her much-loved car that inspired her to choose this name. To mark the 50th anniversary, MINI also took the wraps off a reinterpretation of George Harrisons flamboyant model. This one-off, presented to Olivia Harrison on Saturday night, fully met the precise design brief of the Beatles widow. She accepted the MINI on behalf of the Material World Charitable Foundation, a charity which George Harrison founded in 1973. The car will be auctioned this year to raise funds for the foundation. “George was a huge MINI fan and he would have enjoyed this new version. The fact that the 50th anniversary celebrations for MINI will also benefit our foundation has made it an enjoyable as well as meaningful collaboration, said Olivia Harrison. But there were plenty more unique models to get pulses racing among the fans. British fashion designer Paul Smith again presented the model created by him, while the designs by David Bowie, Kate Moss, Missoni and the acclaimed illustrator and graphic designer Alan Aldridge were also on display. Similarly drawing approving looks were the original cars from films like “The Italian Job and “Austin Powers. The major highlight of the United Festival was the appearance of “modfather Paul Weller, erstwhile frontman of the two legendary bands The Jam and The Style Council and now a longstanding and highly successful solo artist. “As Ive been driving MINI all my life, I was delighted to be able to join in the 50th birthday celebrations, said Weller. As a tribute to the British artist, the band Twisted Wheel performed a cover version at the festival of one of his classic numbers, “Thats Entertainment. The track will be exclusively available from the MINI website: www.minispace.com. |