You Call THAT a Christmas Tree?

Paris auction sells designer holiday trees to benefit AIDS charity

A review of our latest analytics shows France to be the #1 source of our foreign audience. With this in mind, we just couldn't resist bringing you this piece about a very unusual auction that just took place in Paris. (Be apprised that our blogging program does not faithfully re-create all of the accents and symbols of the French language, so some of those will be missing from our presentation.)

From the International Herald Tribune:

The fashion world gathered around 44 designer Christmas trees at the annual "Les Sapins de Noel des Createurs" charity auction in Paris last week.

From Louis Vuitton's golden metal cone forged out of hundreds of LV emblems to Stella McCartney's eco-friendly tiers of cardboard disks and Jerome Dreyfuss's stripped metal umbrellas stacked one on top the other and adorned with multicolored plastic bags, the "trees" came in all shapes, sizes and styles.

It was the first time that top name artists in the world of design had contributed to the auction. Designs by Norman Foster (which netted 8,500 euros, or about $11,000), India Mahdavi (8,000 euros) and Jacques Rougerie (5,100 euros) were among the big bids. But it was the white column of circling shapes from Zaha Hadid that was the top seller of the night at 46,000 euros. For art dealers and collectors at the event, it was a rare opportunity to acquire pieces by artists at a fraction of the price of their other work.

A total of 101,000 euros was raised for the Sol En Si charity organization that helps children and families living with AIDS. The fashion journalist Marie-Christiane Marek, who started the charity auction 13 years ago, said that the money would be used to create a residence in Togo for children orphaned by the disease. But as the total started to climb, more than tripling the sum raised last year, the charity will be able to build much more than originally planned.

No live Christmas tree was used in any of the designs, making all of the "trees" sustainable luxuries. Perhaps their only drawback is that they just might outshine all the presents tucked below their branches.

(Pictured: Zaha Hadid's white column Christmas tree that sold for 46,000 euros.)