It was billed as Britain’s answer to the Met Gala, and last night’s inaugural “Vogue World” at the Theatre Royal on London’s Drury Lane didn’t disappoint.
Stars turned out in force for the extravaganza — organized by US Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and British Vogue editor Edward Enninful — heralding the start of London Fashion Week.
As one would expect from an Anna Wintour creation, the guestlist was suitably illustrious. While actor Sienna Miller was the queen of the red carpet in a white puffball Schiaparelli creation that displayed her growing baby bump (Miller is expecting her second child), actual British royalty was also in attendance thanks to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie (in Richard Quinn and Fendi, respectively).
Elsewhere, London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan mixed with the likes of movie director Baz Luhrmann, actors such as Kate Winslet, Jared Leto, Jodie Turner Smith and Maisie Williams, alongside a host of performers, models and fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, Christopher Kane and Victoria Beckham.
Inside the 200-year-old venue, around 1,500 guests took their seats at tables covered in red linen to watch an hour-long paean to theaters’ opening nights, creatively directed by BAFTA- and Olivier Award-winning director Stephen Daldry.
Footage projected onto a big screen showed designer John Galliano dressing Kate Moss in custom Maison Margiela in real time, before she appeared on stage to kick-off proceedings.
There was opera by Chinese mezzo-soprano Hongni Wu, singer FKA Twigs performed with the Rambert ballet company, rapper Stormzy and actor Sophie Okonedo staged a Shakespeare-inspired duet and actors Damien Lewis, Sienna Miller, Cush Jumbo, James Corden, Damian Lewis and James McAvoy teamed up for an original comedy sketch.
The event culminated with a live performance of “Sweet Dreams” by Annie Lennox (wearing custom Richard Quinn) and a mega runway show capped by the appearance of British Vogue’s current cover stars, the original supermodels Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington.
Proceeds from the benefit will go to London-based performing arts organizations, including the National Theatre, the Royal Opera House, the Royal Ballet, Southbank Sinfonia and Rambert, many of whom have struggled since the pandemic.
Scroll down for more of the evening’s best celebrity looks.
