On a frigid night in London, the fashion industry has stepped out on the red carpet for the Fashion Awards 2021, hosted by the British Fashion Council.
Billy Porter was on hosting duties for the night at Royal Albert Hall, and made a dramatic entrance to the event with an entourage of dancers. The “Pose” and “Cinderella” actor wore a glittering patterned black and silver gown with sculpted shoulders by designer Richard Quinn, as well as black platform-heeled boots. The dancers arrived in floral print and black PVC outfits – some entirely incognito in head-to-toe jumpsuits, also made by Richard Quinn. They spun, rolled and did splits ahead of Porter’s entrance, writhing around him as he walked in.
Richard Quinn is one of five designers vying tonight to win the BFC Foundation Award, which honors emerging talent. Priya Ahluwalia, Nensi Dojaka, Bianca Saunders and Bethany Williams are also nominees.
Other celebrities who wore Quinn tonight include Priyanka Chopra Jonas in a billowing floral gown, Hailee Steinfeld in a shimmering backless polka-dot jumpsuit, and Addison Rae in a pink and black mermaid gown.
Elsewhere on the red carpet, Gabrielle Union arrived in a statement-making chartreuse Valentino couture gown, Maria Sharapova wore a dress made from recycled Evian bottles by Iris van Herpen, and Tom Daley wore a deep blue asymmetrical suit by Christian Dior.
“British fashion to me…there’s something that’s so incredible when you can go from street style to formal style, unique style, gender-bending queer style,” said Daley on the red carpet in a TikTok video posted by The Fashion Awards, which live-streamed the red carpet on the social media platform. “Just to represent yourself however you want to, wear what what you want and just be you, and I love that about London (especially).”
Lily Allen and Demi Moore both arrived in Fendi, with Moore posing in her ombre knee-length gown next to Fendi creative director Kim Jones. Tonight, Jones is up for Designer of the Year, competing for the title with Jonathan Anderson, Demna Gvasalia, Daniel Lee, and Prada co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons.
The event follows a 2020 awards ceremony that was completely virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and comes as many countries around the world announce new travel restrictions because of the Omicron variant. It also takes place one day after the devastating news of trailblazing designer Virgil Abloh’s death. Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of menswear and founder of Off-White, died of cancer at age 41.
