The exhibition was a roaring success and attracted a great deal of publicity. Her beautifully formed features were in harmony with the whole effect a theatrical moment of extravaganza created with pure gold! Moving among the guests in this startling garment, she looked as if she had manifested herself from the world of tsarist fable, like a princess arriving for a coronation. It consisted of twenty-five metres of pure gold brocade, with tiara, veil and long train, and was valued at £180,000. I gladly incorporated her into the Celebration of Gold exhibition, for which she wore the 24-carat gold wedding dress, by the Japanese designer Yumi Katsura. With her dark hair and brown eyes, she was a beguiling Caucasian beauty, and her ambitions to build a career as a professional model looked likely to carry her far. Julia, the daughter of a high-ranking Soviet KGB general, had been declared the last ‘Miss Soviet Union’ before the collapse of the Soviet regime, and she was still only nineteen. I first met her about three weeks before the exhibition when she turned up at one my parties on the arm of the actor and writer Jeremy Lloyd, who had been Joanna Lumley’s first husband. The living centrepiece among all those riches, however, was Julia Lemigova. The press were there in force and were dazzled by the sheer impact of all that gold. It sold on the opening night for £10,860. Among the items was a gold wishbone choker with matching bracelet, rings and earrings. For my theme I chose a simplicity of line and a subtle eroticism. I did mine in collaboration with John Nix, a superb craftsman who managed the Asprey workshop. Some of these I was asked to design in company with seven other designers. That November, in association with the World Gold Council, we were planning a ‘Celebration of Gold’ exhibition at Mappin & Webb in Regent Street, to include such items as a seven-kilo nugget of gold found in Brazil, a Japanese dress of 24-carat gold, and many fabulous pieces of jewellery. I first met Julia in 1991 when I was chief executive of the Asprey Group and the market for luxury goods was in its hey-day. Julia Lemigova is in the news again, with the sensationalist headline in the Daily Mail of Saturday 20th November: ‘Tennis legend Martina, VIP orgies and the mystery of her model lover’s “murdered” baby.’
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