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On my last evening in London, I made sure to find a television to view the much anticipated Olympic Closing Ceremony (tickets were impossible to find and if found, required the amount of a down payment on a small cottage). Rumors of quite the gathering of British talent – musicians, designers and models were swirling, but it wasn’t until I picked up a copy of British’s September issue of Vogue and began reading it as I moseyed about my business on the tube that I was certain about the fashion component appearing in the ceremonies.
Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue Alexandra Shulman and Fashion Director Lucinda Chambers were tapped by Kim Gavin, Creative Director of The Closing Ceremony and his team, to work with The British Fashion Council to bring the talents of the British runway to the stage for the world to see. Within the pages of one of their largest issues (September 2012), photographer Nick Knight captured top British models, beginning with Kate Moss, followed by Naomi Campbell, Georgia May Jagger, Stella Tennant, Lily Cole, Lily Donaldson, David Gandy, Karen Elson, and Jourdan Dunn, to showcase the exquisite talents of some of the top fashion designers from Britain.
What made me giddy is that while I was watching the ceremony, I could list verbatim the designer behind each of the gowns as all models wore the exact same dress on the catwalk as they did in the pages of Vogue’s September issue.
With Kate Moss and Karen Elson’s gowns topping my list, I was surprised to see Stella McCartney not represented. Regardless, it was thrilling to see fashion placed on a such a magnificent stage whether the entire crowd realized or not what they were witnessing. It certainly reveals a bit of the power and influence fashion can have if handled well.
Have a look below at the editorial, as well as a few of the images captured on the last evening of a very successful Olympics.
They were stunning and I have to admit, I got a little giddy over seeing the spice girls too;)
Stella Macartney was represented in that she designed the sports wear for Team GB! 🙂
True. Thank you for the reminder. I guess they have to spread the wealth. 🙂
The McQueen is magical!
Lilac and Grey
Hi Shannon, thanks so much for your lovely blog and newsletter, which I always enjoy. Some thoughts from me about the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games. I am British, married and the mother of teenagers, and we all attended the Olympics which was one of the most inspiring events we have ever been to. We all felt that the closing ceremony was misjudged. After the excellent opening ceremony, and the games themselves, witnessing athletes from around the world achieve great things, some of whom had huge barriers to overcome, we felt that the choice of many involved in the closing ceremony was insulting. Kate Moss is a well-known drug user, as is Liam Gallagher and Russel Brand a former heroin addict. Naomi Campbell is most known for her court appearances for abusing those she employs. We love fashion and admire designers, but these are not people I admire, and interestingly my kids don’t either; the overwhelming feeling in Britain regarding the closing ceremony is that it was a case of ‘Ab Fab meets Zoolander’.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I initially looked at it for the superficial aspect and was thrilled to see fashion (in general) spotlighted, but you make a very true point. Based on the history of some of the people invited to participate, such aspects did not correlate with the tone of the Olympics up until that point. I can understand your frustration, and I sincerely appreciate you sharing it here on the blog.
Thanks for your comments Shannon, interesting to share thoughts on these things. So glad you had a wonderful trip to Europe and that London and Paris did not disappoint .. as if they could. May I offer some of my own favourites for your next visit? Borough Market at London Bridge is the best food market anywhere, and the walk from there, past Shakespeare’s Globe and on to Tate Modern is so vibrant – truly a case of the past (steeped with history here) meeting the future, in a fabulous mix! And I wonder if you got to Giverney, just outside Paris, to Monet’s fantastic garden? A short trip by train from central Paris, so beautiful and utterly lovely. As for me, together with my husband and two kids, we had a fantastic holiday to NYC and Washington DC this April, and can’t what to return to find out more about your wonderful country. Thanks again Shannon for your super blog, I always take the time to read it. Best wishes, Sheena @ Beautiful Life (you may like my Pinterest on London and Britain, have a look when you have time). Have a great weekend.
I will certainly catalog your suggestions, as I wasn’t able to get to everything on my list in either city. A perfect excuse to return! 🙂