Defining Style

Audi ambassador Darren Palmer is not a man to sit around idle. Constantly working and embarking on new projects, he is one of the country’s most celebrated designers, balancing a busy schedule of television appearances with creating just the right look for a range of clients. But Palmer is also not one who shows even the slightest stress at the workload and so it was as he presented another of his tremendously popular Audi Lifestyle Experiences, which combined a personal styling masterclass with a intimate dinner to follow.

Sydney’s inspiring Coco Republic flagship store in Alexandria was the perfect venue for an evening with Darren. The combination of stunning contemporary pieces and L’Americano restaurant situated on site making for the ideal environment for Darren and Audi guests to examine the finer points of design in a relaxed atmosphere.

“It's a combination of how special the events are, how perfectly they're put together, the amazing people that attend and being in the middle of it all is humbling and exciting in equal measures,” says Palmer of the Audi Lifestyle Experiences. 

“I hope the guests at the dinner found my design experience interesting and perhaps a little entertaining. It was thoroughly enjoyable for me to be able to share some of my background and professional insights into how I create spaces so that the Audi guests could create better spaces for themselves.”

There are few better ways to take in the very latest in designer items than armed with an icy glass of Pommery Brut Royale NV, which is exactly how the evening began as guests arrived at Coco Republic. Welcomed by Anna Burgdorf, Audi Australia’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, guests were afforded a private viewing of Coco Republic before Darren Palmer took ‘centre stage’ to welcome guests and discuss his new book, before conducting a masterclass in creating different looks to suit differing lifestyles and moods.

For the guests it was a tremendous opportunity to learn from get to know one of the country’s most sought after and accomplished interior designers. Throughout the masterclass and then afterward over a sumptuous private dinner, guests gained rare insights into what makes Darren Palmer tick and how he managers to create different feels and stay in front in the design game.

“I don't know that I'm in front,” says Palmer. “I don't follow but I have intuitive leads on where things might be heading. It's just a hunch here and there or a recognition that there is commonality in some of the things coming through so be able to see emerging trends,” he says.

“Sometimes it's just having some idea of what the relief from the current trend might be which then informs the new direction in terms of trend.”

Another tremendously successful ALE and a very happy group of Audi customers who will no doubt be applying skills they learned in their own homes right now.