Emma Watson, Raf Simons, Naomi Campbell Come Out to Party in London – WWD

LONDON — London is in high spirits again after a downhearted September due to Queen Elizabeth II’s death.

A majority of canceled events have been rescheduled and kicked off during Frieze Week, where cocktail parties, store openings, and celebratory dinners have all resumed and even brought together the different creative industries into one room.

On Tuesday evening, the capital city had its busiest social night since pre-pandemic. Danish designer Stine Goya began the festivities by opening the doors to her first London store in the heart of Soho. Irish DJ Annie Mac entertained the crowd with a live set as the store filled up with guests sipping cocktails and chewing on candyfloss. 

“What a surreal feeling it is to finally fling open the doors of our very first store outside of Denmark alongside our dearest friends,” said Goya.

At Onitsuka Tiger’s flagship store on Regent Street, the brand showcased the work of New York based artist David ‘Mr.StarCity’ White as part of the Tiger Gallery project, a program that aims to support creativity and craftsmanship internationally.

Luxury department store Selfridges hosted two pop-ups at once. At one side of the store, Repossi collaborated with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation for a second time on jewelry inspired by the objects in the late artist’s career.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the store, the Corner Shop was dedicated to Prada’s new Re-Nylon collection, Reactive, exclusively launching at Selfridges. The green triangles on the garments glowed in the windows as a subtle nod to the brand’s sustainability goals.

Next door to Selfridges, Boss brand ambassadors Naomi Campbell and Anthony Joshua opened the doors to the brand’s new Oxford Street flagship store with rapper Dave performing a small set to mark the occasion.

Art critic Antwaun Sargent celebrated his birthday with a house party at Matchesfashion’s London townhouse 5 Carlos Place with a special performance by his friend Miles Freedom, a Toronto-based DJ. His friends Tyler Mitchell, Jeremy O’Harris and Rafael Pavarotti were in attendance.

Angelina’s provided the night with Hokkaido milk buns, tempura fritters, lobster and crab donuts, miso aubergine, dauphinoise with parmesan potatoes and polenta with soy braised mushrooms. A cake was specially made for Sargent by Violet Bakery.

At Burlington Arcade, a shopping arcade in central London, New York label Veronica Beard’s co-founders, Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard, staged a fashion show showcasing their fall 2022 collection, followed by an intimate dinner backstage with socialites such as Poppy Delevingne, Laura Haddock and Clara Paget.

On Wednesday, Off-White turned St John’s Smith Square, a baroque church all blue for their third collaboration with Church’s. British DJ Benji B curated the live performances of the night by selecting Cktrl, George Riley, and Yussef Dayes. Guests included Labrinth, Ramla Ali, Letitia Wright and Amelia Gray Hamlin.

Prada orchestrated the most sought-after party in town on Thursday for the launch of their new fragrance Paradoxe. The night was commemorated by Emma Watson, who made a brief appearance on the night. 

She was joined by the likes of “House of the Dragon” actor Milly Alcock and Will Poulter, who is set to star in the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” The event included performances by Jamie xx, Floating Points and  Anz & Elkka.

Friday’s occasions took a more gentle approach after a strong week of celebrations. Italian brand Slowear launched their new collection with Sebago at their South Molton store with a cocktail event.

“London has always been like a great capital for us. It’s like the number one city in the Slowear world, we have a very strong and reactive consumer here,” said Marco Muggiano, chief marketing officer at the brand.

Raf Simons, fresh off his London fashion show debut, hosted cocktails at the Matchesfashion’s townhouse to celebrate the collection he designed with Kvadrat that’s now available on the retailer’s site. Guests were provided with spiced Devon crab and endive, peanut tarts, seasonal crudites, devilled eggs and dressed lobster on toast by Rita’s.

Saul Nash, winner of the 2022 International Woolmark Prize and recipient of this year’s Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design gathered his industry friends at The Cinema in Selfridges to celebrate the launch of his fall 2022 collection and to unveil his installation in partnership with The Woolmark Company. Guests were served a Guyanese dinner by Kaieteur Kitchen, inspired by his heritage.

“The installation is inspired by the barbershop that the film was set in,” he said, explaining that he wanted his customers to feel immersed in the environment that the collection was based on.