Stars traded in the steps of the Met for a different lavish night at the museum.
The British Museum launched its inaugural Pink Ball Oct. 18, dubbed as London’s Met Gala, hosting its own fundraising event dedicated to the arts, fashion and culture to kick off its Ancient India: Living Traditions exhibit.
To celebrate the milestone occasion, some of London’s biggest and brightest stars stepped out. The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who has not attended Anna Wintour’s Vogue gala since 2011, and his fiancée Melanie Hamrick, who wore a dazzling champagne-colored gown by Annie’s Ibiza, attended the night arm-in-arm.
Meanwhile, British supermodel Naomi Campbell took her patriotism a step further by sporting a Givenchy gown inspired by the United Kingdom’s Union Jack complete with lace detailing.
Other noteworthy attendees for the evening included Janet Jackson, who wore a breathtaking Stephane Rolland gown, as well as the late Princess Diana’s nieces Lady Eliza Spencer and Lady Amelia Spencer.
Among the most extravagantly dressed was the gala’s host Isha M. Ambani, who wore a custom Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla that, the designer wrote on Instagram, took 3,670 hours to create.
“The ensemble reflects her elegance, poise, and inner strength, while celebrating the joy of hand embroidery and floral artistry that have always been at the heart of our work,” the designer told Harper’s Bazaar Oct. 19. Dressing Isha is always a privilege and to do so as she chairs the Pink Ball, marking such a significant milestone, is deeply special. Every stitch, every detail was made with her in mind, capturing her refined sensibilities, her quiet strength, and the grace she brings to everything she does.”
But while the British elite enjoyed a night with history, on the other side of the pond, Anna is no doubt busy putting plans in place for the next Met Gala.
Indeed, the Vogue editor may have vacated her spot at the magazine, but she will maintain her role planning the annual fundraising event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—and she leaves no detail up to chance.
“Anna is meticulously vetting every single thing, from the napkins to the forks to the lighting,” Anna’s late collaborator Andre Leon Talley said in The First Monday in May 2016 documentary. “The detail of the flowers, the detail of the ushers, how they're dressed, everything has been vetted for months and weeks and months and weeks.”
For more highlights from the British Museum’s Pink Ball, keep reading…
Janet Jackson
The "That's the Way Love Goes" singer wears Stephane Rolland.
Mick Jagger & Melanie Hamrick
The Rolling Stones frontman attends the event with his longtime partner, who wears Annie’s Ibiza.
Naomi Campbell
A Union Jack-inspired Givenchy gown is the supermodel's look.
Lady Eliza Spencer & Lady Amelia Spencer
Princess Diana's nieces in Carolina Herrera.
Nita Ambani & Isha M. Ambani
The Pink Ball host and her mother are birds of a feather in their custom, handwoven looks.
Elizabeth Jagger
Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall's daughter in a see-through black lace gown.
Kristin Scott Thomas
The English Patient actress goes classic in a sage embroidered gown.
M.I.A.
Performing on and off the carpet. The "Paper Planes" singer sang inside the event after having a red carpet moment.