Tamara storms out of her own charity party
Heiress promises 1,000 dresses – but has sent just 65 so far
WHEN heiress Tamara Ecclestone revealed in The Mail on Sunday last week that she was selling 1,000 items from her designer wardrobe and donating the money to London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital, she received widespread praise.
But I am sorry to report her Tamara Gives Back campaign has somewhat fallen flat – she stormed out of her own launch party after less than an hour and has so far donated only 65 items.
For the sale, Tamara teamed up with Hardly Ever Worn It – a website dedicated to buying and selling second-hand clothes and accessories.
Event organisers set up a lavish two-hour champagne breakfast for Tamara at Richard Caring’s Mayfair restaurant George, so she could tell London’s fashionistas all about how much she cares about the famous children’s hospital and explain why she wanted to raise money for it.
But Tamara soon decided that she did not like the way the event was being run, refused to speak to the guests or even the organisers – and then left without saying goodbye.
My spy watched as one of the mannequins that had been carefully set up to show off her clothes toppled over as she and her entourage huffily made their way out.
Hardly Ever Worn It founder Sharon Wolter-Ferguson told me: ‘There was no eye contact, nothing. I just don’t know why people treat you like that. I felt like I was invisible. Tamara sat down in the corner for 55 minutes and then left. She didn’t even make any excuses. She just walked out.
‘This campaign is called Tamara Gives Back and I kept saying it’s for charity. It’s frustrating.’
Last night, the event organiser Emma Whitehair added: ‘I keep calling Tamara’s people to ask where rest of the items are and ask when she is sending them in, but I have had no response at all.’
In September, Tamara sparked a debate when she donated £2,000 towards the £50,000 a former school friend was raising for cancer treatment. While many people, such as her husband Jay Rutland, defended her, saying she was generous to donate and spread awareness for the cause, others noted that she could have paid the entire £50,000 without making a dent to her bank balance.
A spokesman for Tamara vehemently denied the claims about the charity event and said: ‘We are incredibly disappointed that a brilliantly worthy charity cause is being tarnished by false untruths.’