When The Real Runway Went To Royal Ascot…
So when official sponsors Longines dangled an invitation to gatecrash Royal Ascot's Ladies Day in front of The Real Runway and Freak Deluxe, we leapt at the chance. Each Year Royal Ascot hosts a fashion show showcasing the crème-de-la-crème of up-and-coming and established British talent so - as seasoned show-goers - excited were we at seeing just how this would play out in front of a well-groomed yet perhaps not so high-fashion literate audience.
First decision: hat. It was a no-brainer – the insanely talented Piers Atkinson. Our favourite maverick milliner by an interstellar mile, the only choice was his oh-so witty ‘Dalston’ hat in collaboration with Andrew Logan from the S/S ’11 collection (not only since Dalston is where TRR HQ resides but the fuchsia leather beret, replete with mirrored lettering features a microscopic and, of course, entirely accurate mugging scene…)
After scooting up to our private Longines box on arrival and proceeding to attack the bottomless champagne (it’d be rude not to) we cosied up for a chat with the ever-lovely Stephen Jones and brainchild of the Ascot shows, Gary England. Surprisingly, England told us about his seeming naiveté towards the fashion industry upon launching the Ascot fashion show in 2007, coming from an entirely arts background. “I worked for the Barbican before and had no clue about what I was doing, only that I wanted to establish something that could really support British fashion.”
Doing just that, the full show roster included Vivienne Westwood, Julien MacDonald, Amanda Wakeley, Stephen Jones and to our glee, Todd Lynn. Whilst it was made our heart sink observing some semi-interested racer-goer’s only throwing a cursory side-eye towards the proceedings, what is crucial about the show is less the (dis)interest of those viewing it, moreover the vital platform it gives up-and-coming designers. Each day on rotation a designer gets a daily TV interview and the catwalk shows are intermittently displayed on the gigantic screen therefore subjecting all racegoers and royalty to an eyeball full of high-fashion.
“I courted Gareth Pugh to show here,” explained England. “But sadly he declined…” Now whilst we totally get Pugh’s decision, we woulda choked on our Welsh beef lunch to see a few Pugh creations trotting out on that enormous concourse screen.
Stephen Jones (wearing his grandfather’s top hat, no less) told us how Ascot was his yearly highlight – not just commercially, but literally too. The Jones’ are veteran racegoer’s and his dear 90 year old mother had accompanied him this year. “Hats are really universal” expressed Stephen, “you don’t need to be a fashion person to transform your look. There is something about the top hat that’s glamourous, fun and extravagant yet sort of crazy, like, why are you putting this thing on your head? I’ve always loved top hats and there’s something quite sexy about them too.”
Show over, we vacated the comforts of our box, rolling with aristos and well-heeled alike to mingle with the riff-raff and go hat street style spotting. Slightly dissapointingly our anticipation of off-the-wall headwear was met with uninspired Debenhams-mother-of-the-bride-fasincator-esque creations. Even the Royal’s played it safe – perhaps a conscious move given Bea’s Philip Treacey faux pas. Our millinery highlight came, ironically, courtesy of a lone gentleman sporting his own homemade, magnificently plumed creation. A special mention goes to my partner in crime, the lovely Cyrena Freak Deluxe who wore a gloriously summery number, also customized (with flowers and an itty-bitty hummingbird) using her grandmother’s old sunhat.
Back in the box, it was time for more eating, boozing and finally – racing! Post-5 course lunch came TRR’s Eliza Doolittle moment when I got over excited cheering (jeering?) on my horse with the all grace of a football hooligan chanting at his team. Needless to say, it came in!
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Words: Ellen Grace Jones
Posted on June 21, 2011 at 7:06:19 by The Real Runway
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