If you are unable to cough up the $50K for a ticket to the ubiquitous Met Gala in NY AND are approved to attend by Anna Wintour, Vogue’s Editor In Chief who has to personally approve every minute detail, then here’s an idea for you. For a mere £150 you could attend London’s first-ever VOGUE WORLD Party tomorrow to mark the start of Fashion Week, which is also lauded by La Wintour BUT she is having to share the hosting of the event with Edward Enninful the first ever Black gay editor of English Vogue. The rumor mill says these two colleagues are hardly friends especially as La Wintour is. total control freak.
Thursday’s extravaganza will be held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London’s West End and the theme for Vogue World 2023 is in keeping with its causes supporting the Arts. The invitation for the event says the dress code is “Opening Night”, with the invitation’s design depicting a West End stage covered by blood-red velvet curtains. We have been told to expect lots of West End theatrics, glamorous gowns, theatre binoculars and endless references to London’s world-leading theatre culture.
The main attraction of the night, will be the red carpet running outside of the theatre, where celebrities will fight it out to be the best dressed in the latest Spring Summer 2024 couture.
There will also be live performances overseen by The Crown director Stephen Daldry, followed by a catwalk show featuring collections from British fashion labels like 16Arlington, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood. Although the actual details of the event are being kept under the closest secrecy, we can hope for a number of spectacular surprises – perhaps cameos from British acting greats on stage at the Theatre Royal, or live performances from stars confirmed to be attending, like Stormzy or opera singer Hongni Wu?
Hopefully, there will be no sign of the obnoxious Kardashians as the guest list is expected to be packed out with A-listers Representing British supermodels will be Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Adwoa Aboah. It’s likely thatEnninful’s very close friend and confidante Naomi Campbell will be playing a leading role plus former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham as well as actors Ian McKellen and Idris Elba will all be involved in the theatrics in some capacity, as we know.
For those of you who think that the Met Gala is the creation of La Wintour (!) it started in 1948 when she was a mere 1 year old. When publicist Eleanor Lambert, who also founded the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and New York Fashion Week, created the Event to raise funds for the then-newly founded Costume Institute. it wasn’t the star-studded and dramatic costume-filled night it is now. However, it really became a must-go Event 
when the legendary Diana Vreeland joined the Costume Institute as a consultant,
Under the French American ex Vogue’s editor-in-chief rook over the Gala the event became more 
elaborate and celebrity-oriented as the guest list expanded to include the biggest stars of that time, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Diana Ross, Elton John, Cher, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli, Halston, Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Bianca Jagger, among others. With the addition of socialite Pat Buckley, who was married to conservative author William F. Buckley, in 1978, the Met Gala cemented itself as one of the biggest and most exclusive charity events in the social calendar.
Vreeland worked with the Met until her death in 1989, and then La Wintour took over as chairwoman in 1995, overseeing the benefit and the guest list, which is limited to about 650 to 700 people each year. Under her reign, the ticket price soared and raised millions for the Met, but it all came at a heavy cost. What was once a sophisticated society event evolved into an outrageous circus atmosphere where ‘celebrities’ will literally wear anything to ensure that they attract they personally attract the most media column inches in desperate need to be the next Kardashians.
So we should suggest trying the London event instead BUT it is already sold out but here’s hoping it in the future it becomes an Edward Enninful ‘affair’ ……we and Diana Vreeland would be so very relieved.
Labels: 2023, Edward Enninful, La Wintour, London, London Fashion Week, Met Ball, Vogue World
