At last month’s British Fashion Awards , all eyes were on Lauren Laverne. The indie singer-turned-presenter was hosting the event, looking every inch the style setter in a stunning Matthew Williamson dress (pictured). ‘The wardrobe pressure was nerve-racking but I’m a Northern girl and I love an excuse to dress up,’ she says. ‘Thankfully Matthew came up trumps with that amazing dress. I needed something that was going to command attention – at one point I was standing on stage with Phillip Green, Kate Moss and Vivienne Westwood . You need a power shoulder in that situation.’
Thankfully Lauren played to enough tricky crowds in her youth (she was the lead singer in punk band Kenickie) that the formidable fashion crowd didn’t faze her. ‘I think you get into trouble if you expect them to be rolling in the aisles or coming up to you afterwards to tell you they love you. But they’re all about judging each other and simmering with paranoia so it’s quite exciting.’
As for the most dramatic part of the evening, Lauren says ‘I’ve never known terror like it when Karen Elson fell up the stage. Erdem come up to me afterwards and said ‘That looked like a fall you don’t get up from.’
Lauren is a busy lady. In addition to presenting a show on 6Music, co-hosting The Culture Show, writing teenage novels and being a Mum, she’s also championing the Fight Cervical Cancer In Style campaign which aims to educate girls and women about cervical cancer so they can better understand their risk and how to reduce it. ‘When you’re young and having a good time you don’t realise that it can happen to you’ she says, ‘And it’s completely preventable now which is an incredibly exciting step forward.’
Tonight she’ll be hosting a gig in Central London to raise awareness for the Glaxo-Smith-Kline sponsored initiative. The impressive line-up includes Pixie Lott , Paloma Faith and The Sugababes, as well as London designers PPQ who have designed a right-on-trend purple print scarf that will be given to attendees – and which of course Lauren will be sporting.
So what else is in her wardrobe? Her favourite designers are Matthew Williamson , Lulu Guinness and Giles Deacon . ‘He comes from the same region as me and I really get his sense of humour,’ she says. And here’s something to make you green with envy – she’s just taken possession of a much-coveted triceratops bag from his spring collection.
Visit www.showyourstyle.co.uk to find out more about Fight Cervical Cancer in style
Click here to see Lauren in action at the British Fashion awards...
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