View From the Wet Carpet: Archive Valentino, Primark and Afternoon Tea
LONDON — The Fashion Awards 2023 red carpet — or wet carpet as a result of the British rain — was a pick ‘n’ mix bag of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and something high street, too.
As guests made their way up the stairs of Royal Albert Hall, a Jimmy Choo per every six seconds could be spotted on the likes of Kate Moss, Felicity Jones, Jodie Comer and Lily James.
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The brand’s creative director, Sandra Choi, wore a silk shirt with an embroidered fringe skirt by Conner Ives, the winner of the BFC Foundation Award, a charity that supports education, grant-giving and business mentoring.
She accessorized her ensemble with Jimmy Choo sandals and clutch bag, naturally, as well as gold jewelry.
The designer’s advice for walking in heels in the rain was to “just keep it going.”
“The rain, the fashion and this daring, die-hard attitude,” said Choi about what she loves most about Britain.
The wet red carpet didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits, but it was a first for some of the guests, including Kristen McMenamy and Beth Ditto, whose upcoming album “Real Power” is due in March.
“I’d rather it be raining than cold, rather than wearing a sequined dress in 100-degree weather,” said the singer-songwriter.
For the Brits like Karen Elson, Alexa Chung, Georgia May Jagger and Zandra Rhodes, the rain didn’t faze them.
“It’s not my first rainy red carpet, but I’m soaking wet. I don’t know how I’m going to look when I get in,” joked Elson.
Chung said it has been a while since she attended a wet red carpet, but it was her first time doing so in a metal sequin dress, which was designed by 16Arlington’s creative director Marco Capaldo.
Rhodes revealed she’s just finished a secret project with a Spanish company that will be out in due course. In her usual fashion, she wore a pleated printed coat decorated with gold brooches and necklaces to keep her warm.
“On a night like this, we’re all here in the pouring rain celebrating fashion despite [the weather],” said Lily James in an embroidered navy Miu Miu dress.
Nicole Scherzinger, who is currently performing on stage at the Savoy Theatre in “Sunset Boulevard,” took a break for the night in a metallic green corseted dress designed by Patrick McDowell, who helped carry her dress up the stairs.
The night celebrated the nation’s talents — and international ones, too.
Anne Hathaway attended with Giancarlo Giammetti, the longtime friend and business partner of Valentino Garavani, who won the Outstanding Achievement Award.
The actor is starring in “Eileen,” a psychological thriller based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2015 novel set in the ‘60s in New England.
Hathaway was wearing a cream rope-detailed Valentino haute couture dress from the spring 1993 collection.
She said she felt “magical” in the dress and that one of her favorite things about Britain was its fashion.
Daphne Guinness also wore Valentino couture — a black velvet dress from the 1986-87 collection with a metallic bustier attached and a black fur shawl on her shoulders, finished off with a Philip Treacy hat.
The eccentric musician said: “I don’t go to red carpets, I will only go for someone like Giancarlo or Valentino.”
This year’s red carpet witnessed the weird and wonderful. Rita Ora arrived in a black backless Primark dress with prosthetic spikes glued to her back, resembling a dinosaur.
“Comfortable, dramatic, very Emma,” said David Koma of the strapless black mermaid dress he designed for Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath.
“It’s actually very comfortable,” she agreed, adding that she runs past the Royal Albert Hall every day.
The SAG-AFTRA strike coming to an end meant that actors could resume their day-to-day lives and promote their projects.
Gwendoline Christie wore a brown Giles Deacon couture look that she originally wore on the cover of Katie Grand’s magazine Perfect that she couldn’t promote at the time.
“It’s in part celebration of our great friend Steve Mackey, who died nearly a year ago. Tonight is about Giles, Katie and Steve,” she said.
“One of my favorite things about Britain is the people, because they are eccentrics. I love that punk originated here. It’s something about the spirit of anarchy. I love the celebration of true anarchy — things don’t need to make sense, they don’t need to be popular, they just need to be fabulous,” she added.
Serbian-born London-based designer Roksanda Ilinčić agreed that the Brits are one of her favorite things about living in the country and second to that is afternoon tea.
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