PEP SQUAD: He performed at last season’s Burberry show, but this time British singing sensation Sam Smith was taking a break from the limelight. “I’m very excited,” he said, “it’s my first fashion show as a guest.” And what a debut it was. He was seated front row, next to Cara Delevingne who greeted him with a hug after pitching up hand-in-hand with fellow model Jourdan Dunn.
Smith was soon deep in conversation with fellow warbler and Burberry show performing alumnus Paloma Faith as Kate Moss arrived just before the show began. Naomi Campbell trumped even Moss in the fashionably late department, arriving halfway through and perching on the end of the bench next to Mario Testino, who budged up to accommodate her.
Campbell said the closing look — a bordeaux fringed coat — struck a chord. “I always tend to think of myself as being a bit of a hippie. And I love a little bit of velvet. It was very Jimi Hendrix.” Dunn, meanwhile, said it was strange to sit on the sidelines at Burberry, although sometimes it does beat the runway work.
“I remember one season I literally could not move my arms, the sleeves of my jacket were way too tight, cutting into my skin and I was frying backstage — it was just crazy,” she said of one Burberry show. “You just kind of have to soldier it out, you have to go to a happy place, like, I think about my son.”
Other guests included Clemence Poesy, Lily Donaldson and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who said she’s in London for some meetings, “and I’m also here for the Elle Style Awards,” she added. Presenting? “I’m winning,” she said, flashing a big smile.
Clare Maguire’s big voice once again provided the live soundtrack for the show, but procuring the over-the-knee boots for her performance proved to be a novel experience: “I’ve never been asked to measure my legs before. Christopher [Bailey] made them specifically for me, so I had to measure my ankle, knee, thigh — everything,” she said.