A host of very warm A-listers gathered in the shade of the Serpentine Gallery’s summer pavilion on Tuesday night, as June’s party season truly hit its peak.
Maya Jama, Venus Williams and Benedict Cumberbatch were among the stars who headed to the Serpentine South gallery, in Hyde Park, to admire architect Minsuk Cho’s pavilion which is made up of five parts “that we call islands," he says. It came at the end of the London art scene’s party circuit, and attendees buckled in for a final hurrah (before they all flock to Glastonbury, that is).
Among bottles of Ruinart and magnums of Whispering Angel, Serpentine gallery heads Bettina Korek, CEO, Hans UIrich Obrist, Artistic Director, mingled with the likes of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Skepta, Bianca Jagger and artists Yinka Shonibare, Marina Abramovic, Marc Quinn and Es Devlin. It’s all in the mix.
Most fun was had by the fashion set — this year, London designers were invited to create a “squad” of guests to dress, which for the most part had predominantly happy results. Edie Campbell was dressed by her friend Molly Goddard, and was striking in neon-green, see-through tulle. Harris Reed, the London-based designer who is creative director at Nina Ricci, dressed Jama in a leopard print bandana and shirt worn splayed open with a black bralette, while Nensi Dojaka ensured Alexa Chung was the jewel of the bash in an emerald silk, strappy slip.
Other key designers included Charles Jeffrey, who dressed Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter Cora Corre, David Koma, who came with singer Shygirl and The Crown's Prince William actor Ed McVey, and Erdem, who was joined by a radiant Bel Powley.
The event, which acts as a fundraiser for the Serpentine, was also packed with the million-and-billionaires (still living in London), who took an opportunity to show off the latest runway fashions, and eye up lesser-seen celebrities, including Minnie Driver. Some suggested it would be good business for plastic surgeons to start handing business cards out on the door; others tucked into the beef tartare and caviar bites.
Skepta took the party into the night on the DJ decks, before Edie Campbell and Peggy Gou led the way to the Saatchi Yates x Evening Standard Late Night Summer Party which saw hundreds flock to the Mayfair gallery for pies, Johnnie Walker Blue Label cocktails and an orchestral performance from LUXE.
Inside the Serpentine Summer Party 2024:
