An Aussie in Malta

He's spotted at some the smarter parties around Sydney & Melbourne, at fashion parades, the polo and races. Alex Zabotto-Bentley with his Italian-heritage good looks and sunny disposition is a style meister responsible for designing some of this countries best and most stylish events.
Now Alex has scored a new gig- as Style Director for the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta and their entry in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest.

Malta with under half a million inhabitants has punched well above it's weight in the Eurovision and this year's entry will be no exception. Zabotto-Bentley has taken advantage of the local fashion creatives on the island and combined them with the best of Australian artists to create a unique video. 
Says Alex :" I love this song so much and cannot wait for the Stockholm performance. I am going to Eurovsion, my life long dream !"
Here is a video of Malta's Ira Losco with Walk On Water in what could be her winning performance in Stockholm in May this year:

Scooping up Awards

 A popular member of the Sydney's bright young things and all round nice guy Alex Zobotto- Bentley has won a number of awards for design as our exclusive snap shows.
Zabotto-Bentley who is also regularly featured in best dressed lists has, along with his design team scooped the pools at the Sydney Design Awards for a number of projects that includes the Gold for Event Design March into Merivale 2015, an event we simply love which is part of uber nightclub mogul Justin Hemmes' Ivy nightspot. They also won the  Gold for Interior Design for @trumpsspa and Silver for Event Design for SBS Upfront Presentations 201. And what a handsome devil he is  !

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The Tap Gallery in East Sydney, the one venue Whispers had never wandered near has closed it's doors forever. As evidenced by a pile of furniture left on the footpaths outside the gallery and - true to the word of the director, paintings flung into a rubbish skip and piled up outside the gallery for passersby to pick through. Such is life  in the Art World.

Croatian Get-Together

 

Many of the retailers in Sydney's historic Rocks area may be complaining about rising rents and plunging tourists numbers but Charles Billich's art gallery in the old Sailor's Home is thriving. Billich played host this week to Croatia's Prime Minister Zoran Milanović and Croatia's first lady Sanja. Billich was born in Lovran, Italy which is now part of Croatia and emigrated to Australia in the 1960s. No word yet on whether Croatia's PM realised that many of Charles's more erotic works are based on wife Krista Billich who was there to meet the couple. Several years ago the Shuttle came across a glittering ballroom event at the old Sheraton Mirage on the Gold Coast where hundreds of art lovers had queued to purchase Billich prints. Lying on a chaise lounge on the stage was Krista, totally nude with legs akimbo as Charles sketched her whilst guests sipped champagne and looked on in awe. Talk about great marketing !

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Excitement is brimming over the soon to open new nightclub in Double Bay located in the old

Hungarian Restaurant in Bellevue Road under the auspices of restaraunter Karim  Gharbi (left-he calls his promotions company KGB). By co-incidence Karim is a great pal of the Billichs with Gharbi recently nursing Charles through a bout of ill-health. No expense is to be spared and one of Australia's top designers and man-about-town Alex Zabotto-Bentley right has been called in to work on the interiors and the theme- Casablanca !. Maybe they can pick up a few tips from this vid...

Wharf4Ward A Winner

Sam & Kochie from The Morning Show were in good humour as were Peter Overton and Karl Stefanovic

Dannii Minogue says You Can                                             X-Factor finalist Jae Waetford visits the You Can centre

 The third annual Sony Foundation Wharf4Ward at the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo was another stellar success raising over $700,000 for the new Sydney You Can Centre. You Can is a joint initiative of Sony Foundation and CanTeen to support young people who have been affected by cancer. And the stars turned out including X-Factor judges Dannii Minogue and Ronan Keating and numerous TV presenters and entertainers.

sharing a joke : Jessica Rowe , Natarsha Belling & Ita Buttrose.         Titomatic and Boxing champ Jeff Fenech

Dannii Minogue went on a Luvvie bender

Singer Samantha Jade shows how to arrive.

Storm Uechtrit & Ronan Keating, Troy Casser-Daley....and what where these waiters and the snapper doing ?

rules made to be broken especially at The Garden For Life Bar created by Alex Zabotto -Bentley

Kings Cross Lights Up !

A party tonight on the new outdoor deck at the Mecure Hotel in Kings Cross kicked off the 2012 Kings Cross Festival that sees 4 days and nights of events in the one acre area that comprises the Cross, parts of Darlinghurst and Potts Point.

Stephan Elliott

Dozens of restaurants , coffee shops and retailers are joining in the celebrations along with pubs and nightclubs. At last count there were over 40 nightspots alone in the Cross and it's side streets. The change the Cross has been going through over the past 5 years has been remarkable. New apartment blocks are springing up like the old Metropole Hotel that has been transformed into million dollar luxury pads.

Glynis Trail Nash,Damien Woolnough,Jennie Brockie

Darlinghurst Road, a past base for drugs,criminal gangs, strip clubs and prostitution rings still has it's gaudy neon strip facade. Turn into elegant Macleay Street and it could be a tree lined boulevard in Paris with it's elegant Art Deco apartment blocks, restaurants , boutiques and decorating shops.

Ignatius Jones & pal

Rebel Russell & Max Rendall

Over the next 4 days until Sunday there will be non-stop activities with a great artistic team under the umbrella of Ignatius Jones who has designed Sydney's famous New Year's Eve celebrations at the Opera House. Fashionistas Damien Woolnough and Glynis Trail Nash have organized a pop-up fashion store, Sebastian Goldspink is curating art shows while man about town Alex Zabotto-Bentley has created installations and window art in 22 store windows. Mandy Sayer and Madame Lash will be giving literary talks.

Margaret Fink & Warren Fahey

Legendary Les Girls performer Carlotta is presenting a one woman show while music legend Warren Fahey has organized several music events including buskers and a big show on Saturday night beginning at 6pm in Fitzroy Gardens with the great songbird Renee Geyer (the lurve Renee in Germany )                                                                                       
At the party tonight along with Lord Mayor Clover Moore were many from the diverse Kings Cross' community that numbers around 20,000 and makes it the most populous area in the country. 3 Hollywood Oscar winning filmsters : Margaret Fink , Rebel Penfold Russell and Stephan Elliot , SBS presenter Jennie Brockie and journalists like Melissa Hoyer, Richard Akland and Australia's top foodies Jill Dupleix and Terry Durack.
Go to the Kings Cross Festival website to get a full list of activities and travel arrangements.
Below : a time lapse video of Kings Cross by the creative team at Virtual Network : www.thevirtualnetowrk.com.au