Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve and world-renowned photographer kick off their European-wide search at Venice Film Festival.

Last night: 30th August 2014, celebrities from around the world gathered at the glamorous Vanity Fair Party at Venice Film Festival. The star-studded event saw iconic photographer RANKIN and JOHNNIE WALKER GOLD LABEL RESERVE join forces in the ultimate search for a new generation of rising stars.

Present on the night were a host of glamorous, hand-selected Rising Stars from across Europe, including Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie from Great Britain who dazzled in a beautiful Vivienne Westwood dress, accessorising with black patent Christian Louboutin shoes and a David Morris diamond ring, Blanca Suarez from Spain and Marie Nasemann from Germany. All were in attendance at the Westin Europa and Regina to see an exclusive exhibition showcasing iconic RANKIN photography where, for one night only, the display celebrated legendary moments of both yesterday and today’s talent from the world of film as JOHNNIE WALKER’S European search for a rising star began. Other attendees on the night included Paolo Stella and Eleonora Carisi from Italy, Manos Gavras from Greece and Bejna Bruijning from Benelux.  The guests were welcomed with a JOHNNIE WALKER Gold Label Reserve Apple Cooler Cocktail, specially created for the event.

The luxury, celebratory Scotch whisky and RANKIN have collaborated to create the ultimate photobooth, which is inviting aspiring and talented individuals to step inside to be in with the chance of winning a money-can’t-buy prize. The winner, selected by RANKIN, will get to share their legendary moments of celebration with the world, as they star in an online JOHNNIE WALKER GOLD LABEL RESERVE campaign in 2015. The photobooth, exclusively designed by RANKIN and unveiled on the night, will feature in a number of events across Europe as part of the six-month competition.

Throughout the evening RANKIN himself was seen eagerly stepping inside the photobooth with a host of the evening’s Rising Stars including Gwendoline Christie, offering guests exclusive advice and styling tips on how best to have their photograph taken by the booth. Attendees were seen enthusiastically uploading their ‘styled’ photo strips onto Instagram in the hopes of winning a one-on-one shoot with Rankin.

Rankin said: “Over the years, I’ve been lucky to capture many celebrities on their rise to fame. Now, in collaboration with Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, I’m looking for a new generation of rising stars, who embody the spirit and passion it takes to succeed, in whatever they put their mind to. Putting down the camera, I’ve designed a photobooth which is a new and different way of shooting for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Through special treatments and lighting, I will capture the celebratory moments of today’s rising stars – I am really looking forward to seeing the results.”

Flying the flag for Great Britain at the star-studded celebration was Gwendoline Christie who said: “I am delighted to attend this evening’s Vanity Fair Party to support the launch of this exciting collaboration to find Europe’s next Rising Star. I feel very passionate about supporting the next generation of talent and it’s fantastic to see a project that shows such support for this.”

The luxury photobooth will be appearing in bars, clubs and events across Great Britain from September 2014 to February 2015.

Step into the luxury photobooth designed by RANKIN and pose for four glamorous photos

•          Upload an image of your photo strip to Instagram and hashtag with #GoldCelebration
•          Johnnie Walker will then be in touch with a link to enter. Once the online form is completed you will be entered automatically into the competition
•          Share the image and ask your friends to like it
•          The five images with the most likes on the closing date will be shortlisted as a Rising Star and asked a series of secret questions on their achievements
•          Rankin and his team will take these answers, along with the picture entry to select the final winner
•          The competition opens on 30^th August 2014 and ends on 15^th February 2015

Visit www.johnniewalker.com for more information.

JOHNNIE WALKER® GOLD LABEL RESERVE™ is an indulgent, luxurious and multi-layered blend with a smooth balance of sweet fruits and creaminess that evolves into deeper honeyed tones before finishing in lingering waves of wood, fruit and light, sweet West-coast smoke.When John Walker first established the family business in 1820 he began a lineage of blending expertise that continues unbroken to this day. Carefully honed skills have been handed down from generation to generation, with the result that today’s JOHNNIE WALKER® GOLD LABEL RESERVE™ is testament to almost two centuries of blending excellence.JOHNNIE WALKER® GOLD LABEL RESERVE™ has been personally crafted by the JOHNNIE WALKER® Master Blender as a celebration of his art. He has handpicked prized casks from selected reserves – each matured to perfection – to create a bold blend of intense flavours which is every bit as luxurious and indulgent as its name suggests.