Day 3 in Venice – Art by Design

Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Guests arrived for an intimate lunch hosted by Wallpaper* magazine's Editor in Chief, Tony Chambers

Not everything in Venice can be relied upon and alas the overcast and rainy sky meant that the Contemporary Italian Design Lunch on Thursday was moved from the Redentore Roof Terrace to the Salone Gritti.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Sotheby's Cécile Verdier and Laetitia Contat-Desfontaines with Tony Chambers

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Sotheby's Head of 20th Century Design, Laetitia Contat-Desfontaines

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Desserts prepared by the chefs of the Gritti Palace.

The 40 diners, who included artists and designers and collectors, were treated to exquisite salads, roast beef, grilled seafood with asparagus and a cornucopia of delicious options for dessert.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Sotheby's Cécile Verdier welcomes guests and introduces the speakers.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Huntsman's Pierre Lagrange seated with guests for the conversation.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Pierre Lagrange introduces Huntsman's latest artist collaboration.

Huntsman's Pierre Lagrange discussed the idea of 'wearable art', through collaborations with artists invited to reinvent traditional garments. The initiative re-orders the boundaries between art, design and craftsmanship.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Artist Beatrice Caracciolo.

Beatrice Caracciolo, the most recent artist to work with Huntsman on this project, was also in attendance. She has designed the lining of the jacket worn to the lunch by Huntsman owner, Pierre Lagrange.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

A selection from the specially designed menu.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Designer Piergiorgio Robino takes the floor.

The conversation saw world-renowned designers Piergiorgio Robino from Studio Nucleo and Martino Gamper, Pierre Lagrange and the Dutch collective Studio Drift , among others, discuss the concept of the shifting (or as some saw it, dissolving) boundaries between design, art and craftsmanship.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Tony Chambers addressing guests.

Tony, a global authority on design, chaired an enthralling open discussion which took place towards the end of lunch.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta from Studio Drift.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

The Salone Gritti dining room at the Gritti Palace.

Elaborate Murano glass chandeliers lit the beautiful new site of the dinner. The event, which was co-hosted by Sotheby’s and the eminent Savile row tailor Huntsman, was a celebration and exploration of "the old chestnut of where the boundaries of art and design cross", as Tony Chambers put it.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Ed Ruscha's Huntsman collaboration displayed on the terrace.

On display throughout was a Huntsman suit jacket, the silk lining of which displayed an eye-catching rendition of Ed Ruscha's work Boy Meets Girl, Huntsman's flagship piece for an ongoing collaborative project.

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Huntsman jacket with a René Magritte Man in a Bowler Hat

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Photograph: Molly SJ Lowe

Pierre Lagrange wearing the jacket designed by Beatrice Caracciolo, right.

The busy schedules of all parties involved meant that the flowing dialogue had to be brought to a close by Pierre, allowing guests to leave with minds full of ideas and a beautiful Hunstman pocket square to keep as a memento of the lunch.

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