2016 was British Vogue’s centenary year. To mark this occasion the iconic publishing brand held a very special Gala Dinner for 280 VIP guests in May, the evening after the close of the Vogue 100 Festival.

Timebased designed and produced both the Dinner and the preceding Festival, having been commissioned by Vogue to work closely with Editor, Alexandra Shulman and her senior team to deliver events that were truly fitting of this momentous occasion in the brand’s history.

Vogue 100 Festival

We took Vogue Festival to ambitious new heights. We developed the festival to include even more brands and masterclasses than previous years, offering excellent opportunities to learn and discuss the future of the industry. We designed and created an outdoor temporary structure and summer inspired event for ticket holders to explore each element of the iconic fashion magazine.

The Festival took place at two locations that year, between the open plan Vogue World and Royal Geographic Society, located directly opposite.

Vogue Festival with headline sponsor Harrods, included a Vogue Shop, a Vogue in association with Harrods Cover Shoot, a Beauty Hall boasting the best brands in beauty. Bobbi Brown; Tom Ford; Jo Malone; CND Vinylux and Kérastase.

The impressive line-up of speakers included Alessandro Michele, Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana, Kim Kardashian West, Charlotte Tilbury, Isabel Marant, Grace Coddington, Christopher Kane, Jenny Packham, Peter Dundas and many more. The Festival also featured book signings, intimate masterclasses and styling sessions.

Vogue Gala Dinner

The Gala Dinner was held in an impressive clear-roofed temporary structure set up by Timebased on the East Albert Lawn in Kensington Gardens. The venue had hosted 9,000 members of the public over the course of the preceding weekend for the Vogue 100 Festival, so it now needed to be transformed into a much more intimate and luxurious destination fitting for an extremely elegant celebration.

The venue’s white walls were lined with a series of iconic images from the Vogue archive taken by all the legendary photographers who have contributed to the publication over the last 100 years. These were presented in black and white throughout to create a timeless backdrop. Tables were then dressed in grey and white linen with contrasting brightly coloured floral centre-pieces and matching coloured Venetian glassware. Shimming gold was used to dress the reception bar and feature lighting above, nodding to the Vogue 100 Festival branding.

The guest-list included famous faces in fashion, music, art, film and wider culture. From Giorgio Armani, Joan Collins, Miuccia Prada, Demi Moore, Kate Moss, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, to Bryan Ferry, Sir Peter Blake, Samantha Cameron and Sadiq Khan.

The events were both extremely special and marked a huge milestone for the fashion publication, unsurprisingly attracting significant British and international media attention.