Since its market launch in 2001, MINI has been a regular partner of the Life Ball. In previous years numerous celebrities have left their stylistic imprint on an exclusive MINI model, among them the design team DSQUARED2, star photographer Mario Testino and designer Angela Missoni. “And thanks to the visual signature of Franca Sozzani, the this year’s MINI designed specially for the occasion has similarly become a lifestyle and design highlight in the name of this good cause,” says a delighted Gery Keszler, founder and organiser of the Life Ball. As such this one-off model fits in perfectly with a further highlight of the event – the Fashion Show presented by MINI, staged this time round by VOGUE Italy. The show for this anniversary year stoked up particularly keen anticipation after Keszler announced a 20-year retrospective of fashion history. Cue for top models of our time – including Eva Padberg, Tatjana Patitz and Karolina Kurkova – to revive some legendary looks from the past. The many fashion and lifestyle personalities attending were thus able to witness the comeback of Thierry Mugler’s almost forgotten robotic look and the famous train dress that Jean Paul Gaultier designed for Dagmar Koller. Alongside representatives of leading fashion labels such as Diesel, Missoni, Gianfranco Ferré, Heatherette, Philip Treacy, Moschino and Paco Rabanne, politicians including ex-US President Bill Clinton as well as numerous film and television stars made sure they did not miss out on the AIDS charity event of the year 2012.