Princess Beatrice has never been a front-runner in the fashion stakes but last night, the flame-haired 23-year-old proved she was ready to compete with the style crowd.
Dressed in a two-tone wool gown from Serbia-born London designer Roksanda Ilincic’s pre-fall collection, the young royal achieved a look that was as demure as it was innovative. Her accessories were equally as well chosen and included a hard-cased glitter clutch bag by Anya Hindmarch and a pair of towering silk printed pumps by Nicholas Kirkwood.
The Princess certainly looked at home against the backdrop of fashion industry insiders, designers and artists who joined her at the British Fashion Council ‘s Britian Creates Gala dinner. She posed for photographers alongside songstress Eliza Doolittle who also stood out from the crowd - albeit for less subtle reasons. The lean-bodied North Londoner wore a revealing, gymnastic-print, thigh-split skirt and top by Grecian designer Alexandra Kapsala which she teamed with a pair of stacked gold wedges.
In celebration of London’s golden year as Olympic hosts, the gala dinner was thrown to unveil a series of collaborative artworks which were auctioned off throughout the evening.
The works are the result of a collaborative process between Britain’s greatest artists and fashion designers including the likes of Paul Smith, Giles Deacon and Jeremy Deller. The free display Britain Creates 2012: Fashion + Art Collusion, a collaboration between the British Fashion Council and the V&A, is open to the public from July 6-29.
