Naomi Campbell Just Put On The Best Show Of London Fashion Week – And For A Good Cause

The best was saved until last on Saturday. Fashion for Relief, the charity founded by supermodel Naomi Campbell in 2005 that has raised money for Times Up, the Ebola crisis and Hurricane Katrina among other humanitarian causes in its 14 years, staged its famously starry show, dinner and auction in one of London’s most famous institutions - the British Museum.

The late call time did nothing to deter the celebrity big guns - or the ticket-holders. At 7.50pm, a full hour and 10 mins before the start of the show, the queue was snaking alongside the wrought-iron railings and photographers were camped at the entrance. Once inside, guests were squished together like sardines - sardines that, luckily, were distracted by Casamigos Tequila cocktails - until they were funnelled into the museum’s cavernous atrium. Anna Wintour, Adwoa Aboah, Maya Jama, Naomie Harris, Iris Law, Alexa Chung, Maxim Magnus, Luke Evans and Karon Elson were already greeting one another on the front row. Pierce Brosnan attended, performing the step-and-repeat with son Paris, who later modelled in the show. Naomie chose a tessellated Mary Katrantzou minidress for the occasion, while Adwoa wore a spaghetti-strapped black lace slip. And that was just the guests.

The star billing on the catwalk went to Erin O’Connor, Stella Maxwell, Adut Akech, who Naomi referred to as her “daughter” on Instagram Stories earlier in the day, Isabeli Fontana and, of course, Naomi herself, while the clothes were provided by the likes of Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Richard Quinn and Tomi Kuzumi. But celerity-spotting, and imaginary dress shopping, aside, there was a serious message. The proceeds from this year's event are going towards the Mayor's Fund for London, a charity who works in partnership with schools, community organisations, employers, other charities, social enterprises and local authorities across all 33 boroughs to support young Londoners, and UNICEF.

Before the show kicked off, the rather prescient words, “So what would be the world be / If all was carefree?” were sung by a memerising soprano to the sitting audience. Urgent calls to action - including, “60 million children don’t have access to education”, and, “We can break the cycle together”, - were flashed onto the museum’s curved wall in block letters. The message? We cannot afford to ignore these problems - and the responsibility is ours to do something about them.

Naomi’s Fashion For Relief shows, so far staged in New York, Moscow, Cannes, Mumbai and Dar es Salaam, are always a hot ticket - and have raised millions of dollars for vulnerable children around the world. Bella Hadid, Natalia Vodianova and Naomi walked when it last popped up in Cannes. The line up at 2017’s, which raised money for Save The Children, included Kate Moss and Faye Dunaway.

The show was closed by Naomi and Adut leading a gaggle of students, all sporting Fashion For Relief T-shirts, from a school in Lambeth for a victory lap around the catwalk. A fitting end to a fashion show with a difference.

SEE: All The Pictures From Naomi Campbell's Fashion For Relief