As a world centre for fashion, finance and culture Britain's capital has long been a city where the rich come to flash their cash.

But the average Londoner may well have clocked a few more expensive cars on the roads than is normal, even for such an affluent city. 

Each summer the Middle-Eastern monied elite escape the blistering summer heat of their countries and embark on a six-week tour around Europe's premier destinations.

Flash! A bright pink Abu Dhabi-registered Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead

Line up: Four supercars parked by their Middle Eastern owners as they embark on the UK leg of their European tour

Unusual: An Iraqi-registered Mercedes G55 with an interesting paint-job makes its way through London

Arriving in London for the UK leg of the excursion, known as The Season, the volume of brightly coloured and brilliant sports cars has not gone unnoticed by residents.

Over the past week supercars have been spotted by tourists and locals driving around the exclusive neighbourhoods of Knightsbridge and Kensington.

And there were five rare vehicles worth almost £5 million outside the Dorchester Hotel in swanky Mayfair - all believed to be owned by the same mega-rich Saudi.

Pricey: A Saudi-registered Ferrari 458 and Mercedes next to each other in a London car park

Conspicuous? A Saudi-registered Ferrari 599 sticks out like a sore thumb next to London's uniform black cabs and red double-decker buses

Parking ticket? The owner of this Kuwait-registered Ferrari 458 better hope that he doesn't get clocked by a traffic warden on those double yellow lines

These included two £1.5-million plus Bugatti Veyrons alongside a £1 million Koenigsegg Agera, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a matt black Lamborghini Aventador.

Also spotted was an Abu Dhabi-registered Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe in pink, and an all-yellow Ferrari 599 from Saudi Arabia.

And there was even an Iraqi-registered Mercedes 4x4 with an interesting paint-job seen driving through town.

A Bugatti Veyron pulls out into traffic in central London

Eyes on the road! A young man driving a very expensive Mercedes SLR seems more interested in the sights than the traffic

Londoner Matt Rogers, 25, said: 'I couldn’t believe my eyes when I strolled past the Dorchester Hotel to see all of these amazing cars in one place.

'I had never seen a Bugatti Veyron before but there were two parked up on either side of another flash supercar. Then I saw another Veyron shortly after. It was crazy.'

Shame: A Dubai-registered Ferrari F430 is clamped

Clamped: A Saudi-registered Ferrari F430 has outstayed its welcome on one London street

But while there have been a number of harmless posers driving around there have been a number of drivers disregarding the rules of the road.

One Bahraini driver was photographed and filmed ‘powersliding’ his Nissan GT-R in busy traffic missing pedestrians by a matter of feet.

And two Ferrari F430s - one registered in Saudi Arabia and one in Dubai - were pictured after being clamped.

Lady Gaga won Alexander McQueen dress

Fashion icon Daphne Guinness put a huge collection of her haute couture wardrobe up for bidding at Christie's in London, including several items by the late designer.

The 'Born This Way' singer, who was a big fan of the couturier's work, gave the charity auction a boost by outbidding rivals to buy a dress.

She allegedly spent a record-breaking $136,400 via her telephone bids.

The star is now the proud owner of a 2008 ivory silk gown, called 'The Girl Who Lived In The Tree'.

Socialite Daphne sent out a special thank you message to Lady Gaga for her huge purchase.

Daphne said: 'I'm overwhelmed by how many bidders took part ... and I'm particularly moved by Lady Gaga's support for the foundation. I like her very much, and it's lovely to see the nascent beginnings of something that may help other people.'

The auction raised $747,200 for the Isabella Blow Foundation, set up in memory of the late fashion guru.

While marketing and mainstream communications campaigns have derived branding inspiration in the comic-like cartoon style of street art, and the values attached to its culture—freedom, community, transgression—the paradox still exists to see it framed and sold through traditional art channels.

We caught up with street artist Rafael Suriani at his recent show, "Collages Urbains", at Cabinet d'amateur gallery in Paris, where he told us more about street art and his relationship with the medium.

Suriani's mark features animals, surviving and thriving in the streets for its powerful and highly recognizable aesthetic. In his half-human-half-animal figures, the animal faces act as liberating masks, allowing the artist to express social criticism in an elegant way. The vibrant, seemingly playful creatures refrain from getting too serious and maintain a suggestive tone that avoids the obvious.

 

The stickers are the result of a double-binding process that first assembles man and animal, then adheres the resulting figure to the wall. In the past, Suriani has drawn from his Latin-American heritage, playing with shamanic mythology figures such as toucan or jaguar. In his recent series, on the other hand, he is more interested in urban domestic animals such as cats and dogs—according to the artist, the convention that they tend to resemble their owners offers a metaphoric way to talk about us people. Recently Suriani made a series of French "Bulldogs" as a special dedication on London walls, using this breed to cartoon and make fun of some French characteristics. Each dog expresses a different state of mind—humor, spirituality, criticism or beauty.

 

Suriani uses the rare technique of hand-painting every poster he sticks on the streets. Making each sticker is the result of a process involving selecting photos from the Internet, cutting them in Photoshop, then screening and painting before cutting the final product. Such repetition lies at the heart of street art practice, which is often based on plastering as many spots as possible, invasion-style.

When considering the ephemeral fate of the piece of work destined for degradation of the elements, police destruction or theft from passers-by, the time and effort for such little reward seems remarkable. Suriani explains, however, that the fleeting nature of his work is freeing and allows him to be audacious with both subject and technique. To him, because there is no pressure or constraint, that achievement is rarely a failure.

In the end, the piece of art is not the only sticker by itself, it is the sticker in its context, seen as a whole on the wall with the daylight shining on it, the motorbikes parked against it or the branch of a tree creeping across. Rarely is the work's time spent on the wall its only life, after all, with the rise of dedicated photographers immortalizing the scenes for the Internet.

Suriani claims his intention to step into the city's landscape by bringing much-needed beauty comes with a positive message. Rather than being aggressive or controversial, Suriani takes pleasure in having people on the street enjoy his figures. His work is bound to the city—physically, geographically and socially—compelling the public to refresh their view of their surroundings and drawing their eyes to the places that typically go unnoticed. As an architect, Suriani has found a way to unveil the city and change people's perception of the scenes they see everyday without truly seeing them. The choice of venue is very important, based on aesthetic consideration with attention to the context and surroundings like the location.

Euro 2012 recently began and, for those of you who don’t know, it’s the European football championship. European football is what we Americans call soccer, and it has slowly gained steam over the years, although still not as popular as American football…  Whether you’re into the championship or not (or even sports in general), you’ll probably love these simple, modern posters David Watson ofTrebleseven designed for it.

Each poster represents a particular country that’s playing, and the colors of their flag are incorporated into one of the various circular designs. I love the typographic twist these posters have and how they don’t have blatant sports references in them.