There comes a point in a famous person’s career when they earn the right to wear Vivienne Westwood. To step onto a red carpet, enveloped in her sculptural, statuesque folds of fabric has become a rite of passage for young stars scaling new heights – the dress functioning as a symbolic on-ramp for the beloved ingénue turned bombshell. See: Dua Lipa at the 2021 Brits, Daisy Edgar-Jones at the London premiere of Twisters and Jodie Comer on the step and repeat for The Bikeriders.
Last night, Lily Collins experienced this precise transformation at the charity gala premiere of The Devil Wears Prada: The Musical – held in support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation – in a crystal-encrusted iteration of Vivienne Westwood’s signature draped silhouette, worn with Manolo Blahnik sandals and a smattering of Cartier jewels. She posed alongside husband Charlie McDowell, Donatella Versace, Elizabeth Hurley, Vanessa Williams, Luke Evans and Amelia Dimoldenberg. (Vogue’s Anna Wintour also made an appearance, wearing – what else? – Prada.)
And so: the West End enjoyed a Hollywood makeover of its own, with guests descending on the Dominion Theatre to raise funds for the nonprofit Elton John established in 1992. As the show came to a close with a standing ovation, John – who wrote the musical’s score – took to the stage to lavish praise on his collaborators, as well as to remark on his ongoing health struggles. “As some of you may know, I have had issues and now I have lost my sight,” he said. “It’s hard for me to see [the production], but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight!” The legendary musician will let audiences further into his world when the intimate new documentary – Elton John: Never Too Late – arrives at Disney+ on 13 December.
