It was the night when pretty much all of fashion finally came out to play, and if the chill factor was fierce, so were the outfits. While some guests stayed away from the Met Ball in September, those who could travel to London for Monday night’s awards did so.
“Keep telling yourself it’s warm,” responded Lady Amelia Windsor when I asked how she dealt with freezing conditions while wearing metallic gauze and not much else.
Brownie points to the guests who managed to incorporate copious amounts of wadding into their outfits. I saw one sweeping ball gown train made from padded quilting.
There was no fur, of course – although plenty of feathers, arguably not much better in ethical terms. Upcycled, recycled or vintage dresses are the new currency. Arguably, these are small gestures when attendees are flying in from around the globe… still, awards are all about gestures and top lines, and the top line from the Fashion Awards 2021 is that dressing up is back, big time. If you can make a glamorous choice that’s also sustainable, so much the better. Last week, I was part of a panel sifting through about 60 applications from designers hoping to take part in the next London Fashion Week. All of them have ethical, environmentally friendly policies at the core of their businesses.
While the general tone at the Royal Albert Hall was less circus-y than the Met Gala, there was plenty of sparkle, volume and ruffles. Catsuits were a niche but strong statement. Come to that, strong statements were a strong statement: big shoulders and lashings of dark eyeshadow were the order of the evening (focussing on eyes rather than lips is a useful tip, especially if you’re eating and drinking).
Red outfits glowed like Chinese lanterns inside the hall, which had been strung with chandeliers. There will always be a place for black, too – on the basis that you can’t really go wrong in it. Still, I often wonder whether those wearing it don’t later wish they’d worn colour, even at the risk of messing up.
