London Fashion Week witnessed one of the extravagant opening nights prioritising the rich culture and heritage in the capital city of the United Kingdom. From William Shakespeare to the 1964 film, My Fair lady and the British rapper and songwriter Stormzy, were celebrated on this special event.
Supermodels Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were few of the attendees of the event along with artists Damian Lewis, Sienna Miller and Harriet Walter. An opera show was performed by Henry Purcell and a comedy skit by James Gordon. The onlookers got to witness hatmaker Stephen Jones along with the catsuit collection of Burberry. Vogue World was a one night act carried out in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The thirty seven minute long show had the theme on the namesake of the forthcoming fashion week, London.
The Vogue event
Fashion designers duo Erdem and Simone Rocha were the curators of the evening. British Royal Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice wore floral printed gowns while television presenter Alexa Chung wore hot pants and a leather bonnet. Victoria Beckham opted for black monochromatic look. Meanwhile,Tom Daley chose a silver sequined costume.
With the editor, Edward Enniful stepping down from his position, the programme and the seating arrangements were cryptic clues on who would be his successor. Before the commencement of the spectacle , Rapper Stormzy had a serious conversation with the spouse of the late fashioner Vivienne Westwood, Andreas Kronthaler.
Sarah Burton, who had announced her withdrawal from the fashion label Alexander McQueen had caught up with Christopher Bailey, the former creative director of Burberry. Alistair Spalding, the artistic director of Sadler’s Wells, was seated in the audience along with the screenwriter David Hare and his designer spouse, Nicole Farhi. The Australian director Baz Luhrmann had been brought in at the nick of time while Stella McCartney danced along to the song Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, sung by Annie Lennox.
Anna Wintour, the Vogue mastermind
The show was orchestrated by the editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. With Stephen Daldry, in attendance to celebrate the capital city’s heritage as a cultural powerhouse. The aim was to focus the attention on London’s performing arts, with an array of performances from the National Theatre and Royal Opera House, Royal Ballet, Southbank Sinfonia and the Rambert dance company.
Wintour had exclaimed that the fine arts are at a risk in the United Kingdom. She also emphasised that the event, Vogue World, was a prompt to make the world realise how art is an essential part of society. Held on the eve of the fashion showcase, it organised the fashion week to uphold its artistic tradition.
A source from the fashion magazine, Vogue had illustrated the event as a way to utilise the Vogue privilege to attract attention. Similar to the Met Gala of New York, the event was an indomitable flex of Wintour’s connection. Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington were also in attendance for the event.
Anna had been speculated to be shifting her base to London and undertaking the British Vogue and its fashion industry. The night seemed to be the cue of her strategy to rejuvenate the capital city’s fashion. The sentiment of old-fashioned style shifted its focus which used to characterize the London fashion week. The starry night was an ode to the theaters, to performances, to supermodels and to elegance. The Vogue World event marked itself as the starting line of a new era.
