The poetic extravagance of the clothes she was there to see - glowing clouds of sunflower organza, lavishly draped tangerine silks was matched by the skyline, which peacocked its beauty through the glass walls.
The colours were strong, the vibe modern and abstract, the furry shoes deliberately challenging.
A few hours later Emilia Wickstead, a great favourite of the Princess of Wales, welcomed guests to the Royal Geographical Society with liveried waiters bearing piles of peeled tangerines on silver trays.
Oil paintings of admirals and a bust of the Victorian explorer Lady Jane Franklin loomed over the wooden galleries, a catwalk for the day for the demure-with-a twist clothes Wickstead is famed for: a sugar-pink ballerina-length strapless cocktail dress, courtly tailoring in baby blue.
This story is from the September 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the September 16, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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