Inside Claridge’s Century-Long Love Story With Fashion

In February 2007, London Fashion Week came to a boisterous close as Marc Jacobs staged a lavish show at Claridge’s for his Marc by Marc Jacobs line. It was the American designer’s first time showing outside the U.S., and the affair was suitably grand. The front row was filled with A-listers, from Naomi Campbell to Selma Blair to Sofia Coppola. The moment was considered a renaissance for LFW, reigniting the twice-annual event with a sense of fun and flair.

Four years later, Jacobs debuted his decidedly provocative Autumn/Winter 2011 collection as creative director of Louis Vuitton; he revealed that Claridge’s was the inspiration for the dramatic line. “I love it when I see these exquisite creatures coming out of the elevator,” he told the Times. “Some of them maids, hookers, mistresses … it’s very interesting to see who leaves hotels at what time, and what they’re wearing.”

These days, Claridge’s is still closely tied to the fashion world. The five-star Mayfair property has hosted everything from high society balls to fashion shows to Vogue photoshoots to Kate Moss’s 30th birthday party. Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior have all stayed at the hotel. Each year, a different fashion designer creates a unique Christmas tree for the lobby. But how did this particular destination become so entwined with the fashion industry?

“I compare the hotel to the tapestry, and you have the different themes that are running through that tapestry,” Kate Hudson, archivist for Claridge’s, tells Observer. “We can talk about art. We can talk about our royal connections. And we can talk about fashion. We have many fashion links within our history, and we’ve always been part of the fashion world.”

Claridge’s opened in 1812 as the Mivart’s Hotel, occupying a single building in Mayfair. It was sold in 1854 to William and Marianne Claridge, who subsequently expanded the property across the five adjoining buildings and relaunched it as Claridge’s in 1856. Its location in Mayfair—a prestigious, central address—attracted affluent visitors, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The first fashion show held at Claridge’s was in 1911, according to the Evening Standard, which described it as “a large attendance of ladies at Claridge’s Hotel yesterday to witness the opening of a charming exhibition of gowns and millinery.” More than 140 gowns, as well as 100 hats, mantles and furs, were displayed.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Claridge’s was a go-to party venue. The hotel hosted fêtes including costume balls that attracted society’s elite, like The Smith-Winterton Ball in 1911 and The Dream of Fair Women Ball in 1928. For the latter, British photographer Cecil Beaton created elaborate costumes for many attendees, including dramatic looks such as a futuristic nun from 1980 and a voluminous Ascot gown.

“He knew that if he created these extraordinary costumes, they would be photographed and would be in the newspapers, and that is in fact what happened,” Hudson says. “The ball included a fashion parade, which showcased past, present and future looks. When I look at the costumes for My Fair Lady that Beaton created, I can see parallels with some of the costumes he created here 40 years earlier.” 

Claridge’s has been redesigned throughout the years, including the addition of a grand ballroom in 1929. The arrival of the ballroom meant an influx of events, including a big fashion show by British designer Norman Hartnell in 1932 and the Olympian Ball in 1935. “It was a quintessentially Art Deco space,” Hudson says. “It was very new, it was very beautiful and it was very much in vogue.”

World War II put a temporary pause on parties, but Claridge’s never lost its allure. Christian Dior often stayed at the hotel, and he famously gave an interview in Claridge’s lounge in 1947, discussing his New Look line of gowns, which had recently debuted in Paris. Hudson has a copy of the interview in her archives, in which Dior says, “I’m giving women the dresses they want. They’re fed up with the war restrictions. They’re fed up with the tight, straight clothes. My full skirts are a release.”

“He was at the top of the fashion world,” Hudson says. “That’s why there’s been a long connection with the brand.” In 2009, Claridge’s teamed up with Dior on a luxury dressing table, available in select suites, and in 2013, Dior launched a limited-edition Claridge’s makeup palette.

Dior wasn’t the only fashion designer hanging out at Claridge’s. Elsa Schiaparelli stayed at the hotel in the 1950s, and both Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent were also guests. Coco Chanel wasn’t an overnight patron, but did visit the hotel regularly for lunch. 

“If you think about London as a whole, Mayfair is one part of London which has always been golden,” Hudson says. “It has proximity to the shopping streets, but it’s also beautiful. Other parts of London have become less fashionable—Piccadilly was immensely fashionable a few hundred years ago, but not so much now. Mayfair has always kept that cachet. Saint Laurent stayed at Claridge’s while doing a presentation for Princess Margaret at Fortnum & Mason [in 1962], for instance.”

British dressmaker Norman Hartnell, who designed Queen Elizabeth II’s June 1953 coronation dress, had a longstanding relationship with Claridge’s. The November before her coronation, the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers held a private fashion show at the hotel. Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret were among the attendees; the royals were there to look at the fabrics and styles ahead of the investiture. Hartnell was one of 11 couture designers who showcased their work to the royals, and it was just one of the many times he displayed his work in Claridge’s.

“Claridge’s was always known as the royal hotel,” Hudson says. And indeed, it has been a temporary home not only to British royalty like Queen Victoria, but also to foreign monarchs during World War II, including King Peter II of Yugoslavia and King George of Greece. In 1981, Prince Charles and Princess Diana held a wedding reception in the hotel. “It was advertised very heavily as the home of kings and princes,” Hudson adds. “They’re a huge part of our history and of our fashion history.”

For decades, Claridge’s had a dress code that prevented women from wearing trousers into the hotel. This wasn’t an issue for the royals, but several visitors pushed back over the years. In 1951, Katharine Hepburn, an avid wearer of trousers, used the staff entrance after she was told she couldn’t come in through the front. In the early ‘70s, New York fashion retailer Ellin Saltzman wore a tweed Saint Laurent pantsuit while visiting, but was also barred at the door. She removed the trousers and walked in wearing the jacket alone.

“Nowadays, anyone really can wear anything,” Hudson says. “But the lack of dress codes [in hotels] is quite recent. For a long time, Claridge’s was adhering to the old standards and the old traditions.”

As the traditions have loosened and the hotel has evolved, Claridge’s has become specifically known for hosting fashion shows and events. The 1998 opening of Claridge’s Bar, the property’s first standalone cocktail bar, helped to make the hotel a magnet for young people looking for a place to socialize in the evenings. “That was really the turning point when we became very attractive to that fashion world,” Hudson says. 

Claridge’s has since become a favorite venue for London Fashion Week festivities, like the aforementioned Marc Jacobs shows. The hotel has also hosted shows by Roksanda, Harris Reed, Mulberry, Marc Jacobs, Bruce Oldfield, Paul Smith and more. Earlier this year, Reed, a London-based designer, presented a fall ready-to-wear collection in the dimly lit ballroom with celebrities like Lily Collins, Joe Locke and Nicky Hilton in the front row. The theatrical show made a notable splash with its inclusion of a gender-fluid bridal line. “It was really my personal take on maximalism,” the designer explained.

But Claridge’s hasn’t just hosted official fashion shows. The fashion elite has also used the hotel as a venue for more off-kilter antics, most memorably in 2004, when Kate Moss held part of her 30th birthday party, themed “The Beautiful and the Damned,” at Claridge’s. The 34-hour fête, which began and ended at the hotel, was attended by Naomi Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Alexander McQueen, Ronnie Wood, Sadie Frost, Stella McCartney and Chrissie Hynde, all of whom were dressed to the nines. Moss herself wore an ornate blue sequined vintage gown, which was heavily photographed as she entered the hotel, and British Vogue described the party as “a lesson in fashion debauchery.” It’s a moment that has become part of the hotel’s cultural legacy.

“It wasn’t merely that she chose the hotel, which was wonderful, but it was the fact that the theme of the party was ‘The Beautiful and the Damned,’ which is a real throwback to the Art Deco period connected with the hotel,” Hudson says. “It was based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and F. Scott Fitzgerald stayed at the hotel in the ‘20s. For many people, it’s this sprinkling of magic dust that gives the hotel its glamour and its place in people’s hearts.”

Another sprinkling of magic arrives each December when the Claridge’s Christmas tree is unveiled. Each year, a different fashion designer is enlisted to imagine a tree. The idea came about when Hudson was having lunch with Paula Fitzherbert, head of communications for the Maybourne Group, which owns Claridge’s. At the time, Hudson worked for Dior.

“We always tried to work together,” Hudson says. “We’d done these Dior dressing tables at Claridge’s. It was towards the end of the summer, and John Galliano walked by us. Paula and I do not know which one of us said it, but we said, ‘Wouldn’t it be incredible if he would design a Christmas tree for the hotel?’”

Galliano’s Dior tree, which featured snow leopards, debuted in 2009. Since then, designers including Burberry, Paul Smith, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Dolce & Gabbana and Lanvin have all made their mark on the lobby.

“I remember Paula saying, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to be sacked,’” Hudson says. “Because until that time, we’d always had these very classic Christmas trees, and Galliano had created this frozen tree with snow leopards climbing up the branches. It was beautiful, but it was incredibly revolutionary. It was a big risk for the hotel. But now it has become a tradition for the hotel, but also for London. And the rule for the tree is there are no rules.” 

Claridge’s often collaborates with designers and brands beyond the holidays. In 2010, von Furstenberg designed a series of rooms for the hotel. “One of my fondest memories was when I was in London as a young, independent businesswoman and stayed at Claridge’s,” von Furstenberg told British Vogue at the time. “I knew I had made it. To me, Claridge’s is the most glamorous hotel in the world; I regard it as my home away from home.”

 In 2023, Claridge’s held a series of events with Chanel, including intimate talks about the brand’s history. More recently, the hotel teamed up with jewelry brand Annoushka for Claridge’s-themed charms and charm bracelets. Claridge’s is a go-to site for a fashion launch, from Emilia Clarke promoting the Dolce & Gabbana fragrance The One in 2017 to the Leith Clark x Madeleine Thompson Cashmere collection launch in 2021. “You want to find a space that conveys everything you want your brand to say,” Hudson notes. “And Claridge’s does that. It is one of those places where people go who want to be seen.”

It helps, of course, that Claridge’s itself is glamorous. It attracts movie stars and socialites, and it’s been featured in hundreds of photo shoots. Since it opened, Claridge’s has created the feeling of occasion. It’s somewhere people have always gone to dress up, and still do—even if they aren’t an A-lister or attending a glitzy fashion show.