Naked Heart Foundation’s signature charity Gala raised €3,886,000 to fund the organisation’s programmes of supporting families with children with special needs and building accessible play parks and playgrounds for children of all ages and abilities.

The fifth, jubilee edition of the Love Ball, which surprises the Naked Heart Foundation supporters with a new theme every time, was this year inspired by the achievements of a decade’s work of the charity and the generosity of its long-standing supporters and was titled ‘The Art of Giving’.

The venue, a spectacular architectural masterpiece that is home to the Fondation Louis Vuitton collection was completely closed to the public for the night in order to welcome the select group of guests of Natalia Vodianova and the Naked Heart Foundation. Designed by American architect Frank Gehry, the building falls in line with the LVMH group’s efforts to promote art and culture over the last 20 years.

The Naked Heart Foundation is honoured that the patron of the event, Mr Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH / Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and President of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, could be present. Other ‘The Art of Giving’ Love Ball guests included Kanye West, Mario Testino, Antoine Arnault, Adrian Brody, Marc Jacobs, Paris Hilton, Christian Louboutin, Milla Jovovich, Suzy Menkes, Tim Blanks, Imran Amed, Mariacarla Boscono, Gaia Repossi, Sasha Luss, Riccardo Tisci, Ulyana Sergeenko, Derek Blasberg, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, Caroline Scheufele, Laetitia Casta, Olivia Palermo, Johannes Huebl, Miroslava Duma, Chiara Ferragni, Isha Abmani, Olga Lomaka, Milana Koroleva, Marina Glukhova, Coco Brandolini, Emmanuel Perrotin, Kamel Mennour and Isaac Julien.

During the evening, the guests witnessed a unique multimedia performance created especially for the Love Ball that blurs the lines between the classical art of ballet and media art. Bolshoi leading soloists Kristina Kretova and Andrei Merkuriev starred in the premier of the high-tech performance “Forest” staged and choreographed by the celebrated director Oleg Glushkov, multimedia art was created by Radugadesign. The dancers’ costumes have been created by designer Ulyana Sergeenko. The production, which was conceived by Laboratory ABC (laboratoryabc.com) and curated by Marina Glukhova, was a fairy-tale based on the interaction and interdependence between nature and man. In selecting such a high-tech medium for its narrative, the creators aimed to highlight the fragility of the natural world around us.

In addition to this, the guests enjoyed an astonishing classical music act by two young prodigies Ivan and Daniel Bessonov.

The evening ended with an unforgettable musical performance by Lykke Li.

The dinner was followed by a live auction of the finest works of contemporary art. The auction catalogue was curated by Jean-Paul Claverie, Advisor to the Chairman Mr Bernard Arnault, with the help of the Naked Heart Foundation’s own specialist and trustee, Sandra Nedvetskaia. Oliver Barker, Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe was the auctioneer for the night.

The 15 unique lots included a selection of works by outstanding international contemporary artists – both established and young ones – including Huang Yong Ping, Zhang Enli (courtesy of Adrian Cheng), Taryn Simon (courtesy Almine Rech Gallery), Olafur Eliasson, Daniel Buren, Bernar Venet (courtesy of Blain Southern), Yan Pei-Ming, Isaac Julien, Chiharu Shiota (courtesy of Blain Southern), Isaac Julien, Robert Longo and Sterling Ruby (courtesy of Gagosian gallery).

Among the auction highlights there was a “Vertical painting” by the long-term friends and supporters of the Naked Heart Foundation – Ilya and Emilia Kabakov, a unique opportunity to visit the LA studio of Frank Gehry, the world-renowned architect, as well as his ‘Fish Lamps’ artwork, a commission portrait by globally recognised art ‘rock star’ Takashi Murakami (Courtesy of Perrotin Gallery) and the Shchukin experience at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. The artists and galleries have been very generous in their support of the Naked Heart Foundation and its mission.

All the funds raised through the charity dinner and the auction will go towards developing support services for families with children with special needs and constructing inclusive playgrounds and play parks for children of all ages and abilities, which are the Naked Heart Foundation’s two main areas of work.