Last week, Opening Ceremony celebrated the launch of their first store in London with a swanky soirée. i-D was there to welcome them.
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Coinciding with the Olympics, Thursday saw the launch of Opening Ceremony’s first shop in London. And while the small shop on 31 King Street in Covent Garden is only a temporary UK residence for Carol Lim and Humberto Leon’s fashion empire – a larger shop will open down the road in the autumn – its inauguration was anything but small. i-D joined Carol and Humberto as well as James Long, Erdem, Henry Holland, Louise Gray, Maarten van der Horst and a string of London’s other top designers for an all-night, three-chapter celebration of Opening Ceremony.
The night kicked off with an American-themed cocktail party at the shop, with all-American catering of mini burgers and soft-ice in mini cones. Guests then made their way to The Golden Dragon in Chinatown, where the fabulous Jeanette played ringmaster while a Chinese dinner was served to entertainment by a Mexican mariachi band, who sang George Michael, and the artist Marawa, who put on an accomplished hula hoop performance. “It’s a blast,” Humberto told i-D. “From the weather, to the store opening with hundreds of people coming to celebrate our arrival, then to Golden Dragon for a delicious Chinese banquet with Jeanette MC’ing the evening, Marawa doing a spectacular hula hooping spectacle and all the likes of our favourite London designers, to a full dance-off at Madame Jojo’s with our friends Mykki Blanco and Maluca coming to wish us good luck at our opening ceremony of Opening Ceremony,” he said, referring to the evening’s last stop at the club in Soho, which featured performances from artists flown in from New York by the designers.
To mark the Olympics, Opening Ceremony will carry collaborations with Norma Kamali, Topshop, and Chloë Sevigny, who’s made a collection of favourites from her archive collections for the label, exclusive to the London store. Band of Outsiders, Charles Anastase, Delfina Delettrez, Christopher Shannon, House of Holland, Prism, Pamela Love, and Proenza Schouler all join them with special edition Olympic items for Carol and Humberto, who are also publishing a fashion magazine, OC Annual – out in August – and a book, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the New York store.
Text: Anders Christian Madsen
Photography: Rebecca Thomas
From left: Humberto Leon of OC (right) with performer Mykki Blanco; Carol Lim of OC; Henry Holland; Jonjo Jury with friend; Jeanette; unknown girl with nice smile; Maluca; unkown boy who loved London; Perez Hilton and Jodie Harsh; Maarten van der Horst; unknown child with gold balloon; Jonbenet; James Long and Charlotte Long; Anders Christian Madsen with two hunks; Jonjo Jury with DJ’s; Yu Masui; Humberto Leon with guests; Lulu Kennedy.
