That student working at the Royal Exchange bookshop might just be the next Miriam Battye, and the box office assistant at the National Theatre could be a future Jamie Lloyd. But the ushers “on shift” at Theatre Royal Drury Lane tonight are perhaps some of the most established entertainment names to have emerged from the UK. During the fifth act of Vogue World: London this evening, Sienna Miller, James McAvoy, Cush Jumbo, Damien Lewis, and James Corden made a surprise appearance in the stalls, clutching brooms and bin bags as if to clean up all the miniature wine bottles left beneath seats.
In a script written by James Graham, the actors vent some of the frustrations that young theatre makers share: a sector-wide hiring crisis, a chronic lack of investment, and a reticence from tentpole institutions to take creative risks as a result. In 2022, some of the UK’s largest arts organizations (the National Theatre, Royal Opera House, and Southbank Centre) received cuts to their grants received from the Arts Council England, while the Barbican lost its funding entirely. The convergent forces of the pandemic and an accretion of austerity-inspired blows have brought the industry to its knees.
“The arts are under threat in the UK. Vogue World will be a timely reminder of how important they are, how vital a part of our lives, and how much they need our support,” Condé Nast chief content officer and Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour said of this year’s event, which will donate proceeds to London-based institutions in response to the government’s decision to redistribute ACE funding to more than 100 locations outside the capital. “I understand the importance of regional theatres and other organizations. [But] the London art scene is so important economically to the city,” she explained.
In the spirit of the Met Gala, which fundraises for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, Vogue World: London has received well over a million pounds in philanthropic donations, which will be divided between landmark organizations, small arts companies, and independent freelancers. This commingling of fashion and theatre is embodied in the official “Red Coat” uniforms worn by this evening’s familiar ushers. First designed in 1989, these historic outfits have been reimagined as New Romantic tailcoats with safety-pinned lapels and tartan kilts by Charles Jeffrey of Loverboy fame.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane originally commissioned the Glaswegian designer to update its uniforms (based on the ensembles worn by high-society toastmasters) in 2021. “Theatre Royal Drury Lane has an extensive art collection, including illustrations by costume designer Cecil Beaton, which allowed me to peer into the stories and experiences the Red Coats might have had,” Jeffrey said at the time. Alongside the theatre’s Greek Revival architecture, the Loverboy Red Coats combine Mark Rothko’s lyrical application of the color red with Anglo-Saxon runes relating to service and help.
“There’s a wealth of art, costumes, and architectural details within the theatre,” Jeffrey says. “And Loverboy has always been about this cross-pollination between different mediums.” All trompe l’oeil waistcoats, drainpipe trousers, and platform creepers, the resulting look might seem a little alternative for such a commercial venue, but it’s a pleasing collision of British archetypes: ragtag scene kids working the matinée shift at Frozen the Musical. For Vogue World, those uniforms have been refreshed with the brooding, black-panelled tartans of the MacQueen and Cameron clans of Scotland.
The choice to collaborate with Jeffrey is a decision that goes beyond his pre-existing relationship with Theatre Royal Drury Lane. His brand started on the dance floors of Dalston, which, in the tradition of the Blitz Kids, was all about showing off. His catwalk shows, meanwhile, are known for their theatrical accents, often made alongside the Theo Adams Company. “It’s really important for fashion to support the arts. Arts education is becoming more expensive and the government isn’t pushing those subjects,” the designer concludes. “Fashion taps into pop culture and plays into the broad global psyche. Hopefully, this encourages the everyday person to see that, too.”
See every look from the Vogue World 2023 red carpet in London here.
