In London, a Star-Studded Celebration Toasts Dom Pérignon’s Next Chapter
Takashi Murakami, Anderson .Paak, Tilda Swinton, and more creative luminaries lead the French maison’s latest campaign to explore the art and emotional resonance behind the champagne
On Thursday, May 15, a star-studded coterie of creatives descended on Tate Modern in London for Dom Pérignon’s annual Révélations bash. The one-night-only celebration toasted the launch of the French maison’s latest campaign, Creation Is an Eternal Journey, through a three-part exhibition about the champagne house’s storied history, how it produces its rare vintages, and spotlighting the seven boundary-pushing creatives who star in the new campaign.
The evening kicked off as guests such as Maurizio Cattelan, Galerie Creative Mind Shohei Shigematsu, Matthew Stone, Mathias Kiss, Quil Lemons, and noted Dom Pérignon collector Stephanie Goto made a dramatic entrance down the Brutalist museum’s sweeping spiral staircase to explore the exhibition, bubbly in tow. Meanwhile, they enjoyed a culinary experience by acclaimed chef Clare Smyth, who served elevated hors d’oeuvres like potato leeks with caviar, langoustines, and tomato tartare paired with Dom Pérignon’s newly unveiled 2008 Plénitude 2 vintage.
Guests were invited to journey through a multisensory exhibition in three movements—past, present, and future—that unpeeled layers of the maison’s creative identity. The past paid homage to Dom Pérignon’s many appearances in art and culture dating back to the late 17th century, when Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon revolutionized viticulture and set out to make “the best wine in the world.” Among the relics was a priceless 1962 image by celebrated fashion photographer Bert Stern that captured Marilyn Monroe in one of her final sittings, raising a glass of 1953 Dom Pérignon to the camera. Robert Mapplethorpe immortalized Dom Pérignon Vintage 1968 in a famous Polaroid. Andy Warhol, who favored the champagne during his nights out at Studio 54, famously spoke about acquiring 2,000 bottles with a group of friends who intended to uncork them together at the turn of the millennium.
The future section, meanwhile, offered a quiet glimpse at what’s to come: a room bathed in vineyard light, featuring ephemeral Polaroids and images from the most recent harvests of grapes that won’t reveal themselves as a vintage for nearly a decade.
The real cause for celebration? The present, brilliantly captured through the Creation Is an Eternal Journey campaign shot by acclaimed image maker Collier Schorr. Her disarming black-and-white photographs capture seven iconic artists and creators—actors Zoë Kravitz and Tilda Swinton; Michelin-starred chef Smyth; dancer and choreographer Alexander Ekman; artist Takashi Murakami; and musicians Anderson .Paak and Iggy Pop—instinctually embodying their creative processes and reflecting on their craft. Paired with short films shot by director Camille Summers-Valli, each unpacks their unique definitions of “creation” in simple yet profound terms. “Creation is a release,” says Iggy Pop. “Creation is an offering,” says Kravitz. “It’s sacred.”
“Our founder, Dom Pierre Pérignon, was a creator with a big C,” Vincent Chaperon, the maison’s Chef de Cave, told Galerie. “His creativity is our reason to be, which perhaps isn’t obvious to most people, but fine wine is truly an artistic creation. It’s a feeling, it’s an emotion, and it’s something that resonates with your emotions and who you are.”
To that end, the campaign afforded each participant profound moments of reflection on their own creative journeys. “The fun part is I always feel like I’m never satisfied with what I put out, and I’m searching internally for bolder flavors, something to inspire and excite me,” Anderson .Paak told Galerie before the celebration kicked off. “I’m having fun with each and every project, learning from the last one, and taking that into the next one.”
He certainly had fun DJing the Révélations soirée. After a healthy dose of champagne and dancing, Swinton took the stage to recite a self-penned poem called “Notes for Radical Living” in which she instructed revelers to “hold a calm mind, champion second chances, seek growth, trust in change, and hold faith in miracles,” among other pieces of advice to live more creatively. Afterward, the evening raged on with a champagne-soaked dance party led by DJ Pee .Wee—Anderson .Paak’s wig-friendly alter-ego—and trumpeter Maurice “MoBetta” Brown that kept the high-octane energy surging until well after midnight.
Scroll below for more images from the evening.
