Stylist: Lorenzo Posocco
Outfit: custom Vivienne Westwood
Makeup Artist: Lisa Eldridge assisted by Jessie
Hairstylist: Luke Hersheson assisted by Emma Tierney
Manicurist: Michelle Humphrey
Colorist: Nicola Clarke
Jewelry: EÉRA | Spinelli Kilcollin | Hotlips by Solange |
Vivienne Westwood | Shay |
The BRIT Awards are a celebration of Britishness and singer Dua Lipa took note and delivered (as she always does).
For the event, held at The O2 Arena on May 11, 2021 in London, England she embodied what it means to be a powerful sensual woman.
Lipa wore a yellow custom Vivienne Westwood bustier dress covered by a purple net featuring a long train, paired with black thigh-high stockings and purple Vivienne Westwood Super Elevated Ghillie shoes (as seen on Doja Cat at the AMAs 2020).
So great for a first collaboration between the entertainer and Vivienne Westwood‘s creative director Andreas Kronthaler, who told British Vogue: “The sun is rising after the lockdown, a yellow dress is the perfect choice.”
On her left ear, Dua accessorized her look with EÉRA earrings in the style Chiara in 18-karat white gold with diamonds and in the style Lock in 18k yellow gold; on her right ear, one earring by Vivienne Westwood covered in diamonds.
The singer usually wears a lot rings and this time she wore: a Spinelli Kilcollin three band Aurora ring adorned with brilliant-cut white pavé diamonds totalling 1.5ct, linked together by two mini connecting rings on her right ring finger, a Hotlips by Solange Britannia ring on her right index finger and a Vivienne Westwood pearl bracelet on her right wrist.
Not to forget her several Shay chain rings and pinky ring on her left hand and the pièce de résistance: a Vivienne Westwood three-row pearl choker.
Would you like to know a fun fact about the choker and its emblem that we can spot on several Vivienne Westwood‘s products?
There is a post from 2013 on Vivienne Westwood‘s blog, where it’s described in detail how it came to life (keep in mind that in the mid ’80s Vivienne was in Italy, working with Fiorucci while her World’s End boutique was closed for some time following Westwood and her former partner’s separation).
“During this time she was working on a collection with the theme of royalty but with a futuristic touch as the idea of taking tradition into the future was in her mind.
An influence on this was that before she had gone to Italy I had shown & lent my mother some astronomy magazines I had collected, in which she had seen photos of computer enhanced images of galaxies, the event horizon of black holes, articles about ‘Deep Sky’ photography & photos of the planet Saturn with its ring system.
One of the garments that she was planning was a knitted jumper which she imagined Prince Charles might wear in his spare time. So on it were all the insignia that a prince of Britain might have; griffons, coat of arms, the thistle for Scotland, the leek for Wales, the shamrock for Ireland, a chain, the crown & also the orb from the crown jewels. To bring the futuristic feel into this she decided with the orb to add a satellite ring around it like the one around Saturn & also to add to the jumper design the phrase Deep Sky & some radar dishes.
In Italy at this time was her friend Carlo D’Amario (who is now the Westwood business manager). He saw the jumper design & seeing the orb told her that this was perfect for her logo (at the time she was paying someone else to try to come up with a logo for herself) as this emblem in itself perfectly reflected her idea of taking tradition into the future. So the logo was born & it was present on all the collections from this time onwards.
First of all it was on the label, embroidered on some garments & on the buttons, but its use has expanded over the 28 years since its birth from the first orb pendant appearance in the Harris Tweed AW 87-88 show to a myriad of incarnations up until the present day. […]
There was a brief moment of confusion when it was realised that the logo was very close to the Harris Tweed logo but since Vivienne had been the first designer in ages to use this traditional British fabric & by doing so had revived their fortunes Harris Tweed were not worried at all.”
As for her hair, hairstylist Luke Hersheson told Telegraph.co.uk: “Being in a room full of 4000 people without masks, dancing and having fun after the year we’ve had was exciting, and Dua wanted her look to be a celebration of all of that. Everyone’s been living in a tracksuit for a year, so this was a pivotal moment for pushing boundaries–the beehive felt like the perfect style for now.”
The inspiration? Not Amy Winehouse like many speculated but “pictures of supermodels Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Linda Evangelista in the early 90’s–with a hint of punk.
There’s something slightly rebellious about taking a hairstyle like the beehive and giving it a modern edge–her whole look felt like a roaring twenties moment; a true celebration of the end of lockdown.”
The Beehive was invented by American hairstylist Margaret Vinci Heidt in the 60’s.
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During the ceremony Dua won in the Best Female Solo Artist category and the Mastercard Album of the Year category.
Award recipients were given a double trophy, which consisted of a larger, colorful statuette, as well as a smaller metallic statuette, and have been “encouraged to award the second smaller trophy on to someone else.”
The award was designed by Es Devlin and Yinka Ilori–for more on the matter, read this article.
Dua Lipa‘s Management Company Tap Music reported the names of the people she awarded for better comprehension: “Dua shares her Female Solo Artist award with Dame Elizabeth Anionwu, an emeritus Professor of Nursing who spoke of the ‘massive disparity between gratitude and respect for Frontline workers’ and called for a fair pay rise for NHS workers.
Her award for Album of the Year is shared with Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole-who recently died attempting to save a woman in the River Thames-and fellow rescuer Joaquin Garcia. Dua also echoed the many voices of the nation and called for them to be honored with the George Medal for their bravery.”
