Parties: The life and Soul of a city

There was a clash of London subcultures as Old Street scenesters relocated to South Kensington for the launch of the Soul i-D exhibition last week. Christie's Auction House is a far cry from the grungey youth culture that Terry Jones' magazine tends to nurture, but it provided a well-lit (and well-to-do) backdrop for the launch of the street-style bible's latest expo, which includes visuals from Alexander McQueen and Terry Richardson.

Leather jackets brushed up against Italian suits as the tribes warily circled each other. Some made the brave leap: self-proclaimed shaman and professional flaneur Matthew Stone was spotted with GQ editor Dylan Jones, while Frankie Poullain, formerly of The Darkness, hovered nearby – no doubt waiting to fill any awkward conversational gaps with tips from his recently published self-help book.

Sipping champagne and lychee Martinis, art-world fruits mixed with Shoreditch pineapples – as one reveller described his hairstyle – and mockney-cum-Tatler duo Jaime Winstone and Alfie Allen successfully worked both sides of the room, playing on their idiosyncratic mix of East End heritage and West-side insouciance. Elsewhere, stylist Caryn Franklin gave her own contributions a once over, standing in the pupil of the eye-shaped display, as the Christie's boys smoothed their partings and the i-D crowd fluffed their undercuts.

A sociable Luella Bartley, glowing with post-Fashion Week acclaim, was cheerfully heedless of the divide and mingled with Sloanes and Hoxtoanes alike. But then, she does live in Cornwall.