Black
Magic: Lisa Snowdon, Courtney Love, Alexa Chung and a rather risqué Alex Dellal
proved that black is still number one with the fash pack. (All pictures @ Rex Features)
On Monday night I donned my best frock and
headed down to the 2009 Elle Style Awards, held at London's Big Sky Studios.
The Elle Awards are one of the top nights
in the fash pack’s event calendar and with flowing champagne, wall to wall
celebrities, the cream of the fashion world and oodles of jaw-droppingly
beautiful people it never disappoints!
As I approached the venue, memories of
holding the Warehouse catwalk show there last year made me smile, safe in the
knowledge that I was not in the organiser seat tonight and could kick back and style
watch to my heart’s content!
The pounding rain did not stop the none-too-shy
paparazzi doing their thing (is it just me or do those lenses keep getting
bigger?) on the red carpet though it must be said that the constant popping of flash
bulbs did much to light up smiles and the dismal night. Aided by a godsend of a
security guard with an umbrella I scurried past the scrum, getting me, myself
and my towering heels safely inside!
So what was the vibe on the style front? Well, at the risk of reviving a well-worn
fashion cliché, it’s fair to say that the fash pack at large were clad in head-to-toe
black. From the sexy structured numbers worn by Lisa Snowdon and Alexa Chung
(the host for the evening) to biker chic from punk model Alice Dellal, black was
definitely the non-colour of choice.
Another favourite of the night was the
black tuxedo jacket. Whether styled over micro shorts, mannish trousers or over
a dress, there were more than a handful of these sharp, versatile beauties in
the room. Even the PM’s wife, Sarah Brown, who was there to talk about her
charity work for Safe Motherhood with the White Ribbon Alliance, looked sleek
in knee-skimming black jersey.
Thandie Newton was a kaleidoscopic
delight, while Louise Redknapp proved that stacked Glads are still a footwear winner
for spring/summer 09. (All pictures at Rex Features)
If I’m painting a picture that the whole
affair was a shroud of black, please don’t dismay as there were those that did
buck the trend with high pigment colour and boy did they do it well; Thandie
Newton showed us all how to wear this season’s bright impact prints (a look
coming soon to Warehouse), while Leah Wood and Heidi Range wowed in pillar box red.
Animal print also formed part of the resistance to black with some great
leopard dresses wriggling about on the dancefloor. Shoe wise, variations of
that style essential, the stacked Gladiator heel, encased many a foot including
the dainty toes of Louise Redknapp and David Walliam’s squeeze de jour, Lauren
Bud.
Among the Elle Style kings and queens
crowned were Courtney Love (wearing, you guessed it, black) who took the award
for Woman of The Year, Sienna Miller, who nabbed the Style Icon crown, Frieda
Pinto, Actress of The Year (Slumdog Millionaire fame) and Rosie Huntington –
Whitley, Model of The Year (looking resplendent in her floor length pastel Grecian
gown).
To sum up, my fashion tip for the season is
refreshingly safe: invest in some trusty black, but also experiment with the
brighter side of spring and add a multi-coloured impact print dress or top to
stand out from the crowd.
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