Parties You Will Never Get Into

London Fashion Week ran its course in 2009 with a bang. A day before it concluded, British luxury brand Burberry put on a homecoming fashion show to top all others.

Burberry—which had chosen to mount its shows in Milan for the last eight years—was home in London on Sept. 22. Such message resonated well among stars and socialites, many of whom had come from both sides of the Atlantic to see the show.

Burberry’s return to UK was enough to induce frisson among the U.S.’ fashion-forward British expatriates. American Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour led uprooted countrymen—like Harry Potter witch Emma Watson, Spice Girl Victoria Beckham and New York-based model Agyness Deyn—back to their motherland for the rare engagement.

Showcased in the show was Burberry’s highly anticipated spring/summer 2010 Prorsum collection. Chief designer Christopher Bailey commanded everyone’s attention with show-stopping pieces, including stylized revisions of the brand’s iconic trench coat.

More than 1,000 guests saw the show, which was timed with London Fashion Week’s 25th anniversary. Lucky witnesses included the editors of French Vogue and American Harper’s Bazaar, Carine Roitfeld and Glenda Bailey, respectively. Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Erin O’Connor, and Hannah Marshall also viewed the collection.

Yankee fashionistas like Mary-Kate Olsen and Liv Tyler jetted to the English capital especially for the event. Gwyneth Paltrow, one of Britain’s famous American expats, was another estimable presence, along with UK-bred aristocrats Sir Philip Green, Lady Victoria Hervey, Lord Peter Mandelson, and Samantha Cameron. Read more here.

Once silver confetti poured unto the catwalks in the Chelsea College of Art & Design, attendees moved to Horseferry House, Burberry’s new London headquarters. Inside, Bailey and company had cooked up a party for the ages.

One of the first things that greeted guests, which included movie magnate Harvey Weinstein and photographer Mario Testino, was a high-tech light show in the atrium. Nearby, somewhere in the ground floor, online terminals invited guests to update their Twitter and Facebook statuses.

There were other diversions as well. Burberry had tapped The Kooks for entertainment, but others could dance to tunes by amateur DJs Agyness Deyn and MTV hostess Alexa Chung. Meanwhile, everyone had Snow Leopard cocktails and Moët champagnes.