Beckhams, Elton John, Kate Beckinsale, Mila Kunis Bring London to LA at Burberry Extravaganza (Video)
British luxury line converts Griffith Observatory into a private A-list party playground of fashion and music as Naomi Campbell parades with soldiers
Mikey Glazer | April 17, 2015 @ 3:28 PM
Last Updated: April 17, 2015 @ 3:46 PM
Name them all...take a stab in the comments. (Mikey Glazer)
Hollywood stars and fashion legends were out in full force for Burberry’s fashion show and party at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
It’s a rare night in Hollywood when CAA honchos Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd are the faces people can’t place.
An arsenal of U.K. fashionistas and global pop culture stars filled a custom built tent at the Griffith Observatory for luxury fashion house Burberry’s “London in Los Angeles” event, a multi-million dollar fashion show, concert and visual spectacle that amounted to a “mountain top buyout.”
A night out with the kids…Beckham style. Auntie Anna is there too. (Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for Burberry)
Burberry fans Victoria Beckham, David Beckham (with one grown child and three younger offspring clinging to them) David Furnish, Sir Elton John, Huvane, Lourd, Anna Wintour (London native and titled as an OBE), and new “Late Late Show” host James Corden, with wife Julia Carey were among the stylish guests sitting on the front row for the show.
“We’re 14 shows in,” Corden told a boisterous agent type on the way in, as Carey chatted to friends about just having given birth to a “chubby” baby.
MIla Kunis with the new CBS late night guy. Kate Beckinsale walks the runway exit with Brooklyn Beckham. (Getty Images)
Burberry rebuilt the iron gates of the Griffith Observatory to echo Buckingham Palace, and welcomed stars including Cara Delevigne, Kate Beckinsale, Mila Kunis, Rose Byrne and January Jones to pass through them.
Pregnant Jamie King and Chris Hardwick arrive at Burberry’s London in Los Angeles event on Thursday night. (Getty Images)
There were moguls (Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ryan Seacrest), entrepreneurial creators (Chris Hardwick, Adrian Grenier), and Jamie King (above at left, pregnant and wearing a sheer dress revealing her underwear).
Rosie Huntington-Whitely and Jason Statham attended, while “Star Wars” star John Boyega had just hit Disney’s promotional event in Anaheim earlier this week. (Getty Images)
There is a reason why there are hardly any parties held at the Griffith Observatory — as it costs the crown jewels.
The arrivals. (Mikey Glazer)
The security was as tight as for a presidential inauguration in Washington D.C. From Mercedes sprinters shuttling guests up the private mountain through billowing flags, to the personally monogrammed Burberry scarves awaiting each guest at their seats and even valets who could not accept tips, the luxury brand went for luxury production.
A drum corps of soldiers leading the final fashion parade were actual British soldiers flown over for the event. They led a cast of models imported from eight time zones, as Naomi Campbell brought up the rear on a one-way walk towards the end of the tent that suddenly broke away.
Social magnet Cara Delevigne and Ashley Madekwe with Iddo Goldberg. (Getty Images)
When the far end of the fashion show tent disappeared to reveal the night sky, the soldiers and models led a parade down an extra 100 yards of a runway to where the theme of “London in Los Angeles” came to a visual crescendo projected across the observatory building itself as a helicopter shoot aerials.
Cue the slow clap for CEO Christopher Bailey (also in from London).
Fashion media captains who attended the glamorous event included Wintour, fellow Vogue staffer Lisa Love, Stefano Tonchi (W Magazine), Joe Zee (Editor in Chief, Yahoo Style), Krista Smith (Vanity Fair’s ambassador to Hollywood) and Janice Min (THR/Billboard) and photographer Mario Testino, he of the non-stop royal family commissions, with a point-and-shoot camera dangling from his wrist.
Mario Testino on the other side of the lens on Thursday night. (Shot by Chris Weeks/Getty Images)
In the face of L.A.’s various vapid and belittled “fashion weeks,” this is the second major one-off in L.A. this year. Over Oscar Weekend, Tom Ford’s show at Milk Studios realigned the celebrity orbit, news cycle, and tilted the Oscar weekend template.
Andy Gelb and his Slate PR team coordinated that event as well, carving out a new beachhead far west of Lincoln Center.
Besides top shelf fashion, the other new kid on the block Thursday night was Periscope. Beyond Burberry promoting several of their own feeds from inside, the most frequent reaction to the show was to go hunting for “hearts.”
9 Outrageous Fashion Scandals: From Abercrombie's Fat-Shaming to Kathie Lee's Sweatshops (Photos)
John Galliano, the head designer for Dior, was caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris café in 2011. Galliano can be heard saying to fellow diners, “I love Hitler” and “People like you would be dead today. Your mothers, your forefathers would be f**ing gassed and dead.” Following the release of the video, Galliano was fired from Dior and retreated from publicity while spending time in rehab.
Abercrombie & Fitch saw its reputation take a plunge in 2013 when CEO Mike Jeffries’ comments from a 2006 interview resurfaced. Jeffries openly admitted in the interview that the company only wanted the attractive, all-American, cool kids wearing the brand's clothes.
The retailer recently came under fire for selling a tapestry resembling the uniform gay prisoners wore in Nazi camps during the Holocaust. The article in question is a blanket with pink triangles superimposed over grey and white stripes. Urban Outfitters reportedly pulled the item after it generated outrage in the LGBT community. This isn’t the first time the retailer has sparked controversy; in 2014 Kent State sweatshirts were for sale with bullet holes and blood spatter alluding to the killings of four students at the university in 1970.
Domenico Dolce, one half of Italian brand Dolce & Gabbana, made comments to an Italian magazine stating children conceived through IVF are “synthetic children.” Elton John caught wind of the comments and went to social media to call a boycott of D&G. John, who has two children via IVF with husband David Furnish, said, "How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic.'”
Karl Lagerfeld, the creative mind behind Chanel and Fendi, faced backlash for fat-shaming when he said “nobody wants to see curvy women on the runway,” and then called Adele “a little too fat.” Lagerfeld has never been one to censor his thoughts and later responded to the controversy saying, “But after that she lost eight kilo, so I think the message was not that bad.”
From accusations of sexualizing children to finding itself on the brink of bankruptcy several times, American Apparel has had its fair share of controversies. In 2013, the retailer held a modeling contest for plus-size women. The winning contestant submitted photos of herself half-naked eating fatty foods in an attempt to make a mockery of the brand.
Australian model Robyn Lawley, size 12, was at the forefront of controversy when Sports Illustrated labeled her “plus-size” in 2015. The average American women is size 14. The model addressed the issue saying, “It’s about time we forgo labels and embrace size diversity in the fashion world and mainstream media.”
In 2007, clothing brand The Gap reportedly used vendors in India that exploited child laborers as young as 10 years old. Gap responded to the controversy swiftly and condemned the use of child labor to produce or work on garments and has since required suppliers to guarantee they will not use child labor. Other brands exposed for child labor include Disney, Nike and Kathie Lee Gifford’s Wal-Mart clothing line.
Lululemon co-founder Chip Wilson found himself in hot water when he blamed women’s thighs for defects in the brand's yoga pants. The $98 pants were recalled in 2013 for being too sheer and pilling after only a few wears. In a Bloomberg interview, Wilson responded to the complaints saying, “They don't work for some women's bodies ... it's really about the rubbing through the thighs." Wilson stepped down as chairman in 2013.
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Some designers and fashion industry executives should invest in mufflers
John Galliano, the head designer for Dior, was caught on camera making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris café in 2011. Galliano can be heard saying to fellow diners, “I love Hitler” and “People like you would be dead today. Your mothers, your forefathers would be f**ing gassed and dead.” Following the release of the video, Galliano was fired from Dior and retreated from publicity while spending time in rehab.