Victoria had the honour and pleasure of being invited to design a table at the recent Art of Dining: Best of the Best 2019 event at the NGV. The spectacular event, which consisted of an exclusive black-tie dinner followed by a public exhibition, showcased the work of Melbourne’s leading creatives. Each designer took on the honourable task of creating a unique table setting inspired by Tiepelo’s The Banquet of Cleopatra, a key painting in the NGV’s collection which depicts a lavish banquet.
Opulent and abundant, the Victoria Whitelaw table featured a 6ft tall metallic gold stand extravagantly styled with a stunning combination of seasonal blooms and foliage including arcs of rosehip, autumnal hydrangea, luxe phalaenopsis orchids, hanging amaranthus and persimmon branches. Two spectacular taxidermy peacocks perched amongst the design which consisted of a botanical colour palette of coral, apricot, burnt orange, burgundy, blue and green.
Metallic gold crockery and cutlery with elegant glassware was set amongst a sea of navy blue velvet, with each plate finished with a matching navy velvet napkin adorned with a cluster of blooms a peacock eye feather. The lavish table setting was complete with navy velvet chairs, each chair back beautifully styled with blooms, cascading foliages and peacock feathers to perfectly complement the main arrangement.
This was such an amazing event for the whole team to be involved in, and it was an absolute honour to have Victoria’s remarkable design featured alongside the work of such influential local creatives.
