The wonder of Westwood

THE Grande Dame of British fashion's glittering assembly of A-list friends were out in force as Vivienne Westwood staged a gala charity night.

The event was entitled Chaos Point - "a glamorous spectacle of dance, music and fashion" at the Banqueting House. Co-hosted by Nigella Lawson, the gala in aid of the NSPCC was attended by Jerry Hall, with her daughters, Elizabeth and Georgia May Jagger, artist Tracey Emin and the daughter of Harrods owner Mohamed Fayed, Camilla Fayed.

Also there were former supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Eva Herzigova, photographer Mary McCartney and Roman Abramovich's girlfriend, Daria (Dasha) Zhukova.

They were all there to see the first London catwalk show of Ms Westwood's top line Gold Label collection, a branch of her work designed for the Paris stage and the haute couture crowd, although it is on sale at her London shop in Conduit Street.

The show was accompanied by music from London Musici, a chamber orchestra more used to collaborating with the Ballet Rambert. The show and concert was followed by dinner, with tables at £4,000 each, or £30,000 for a "patron's" table. The aim was to raise £250,000.

The designer also showcased her autumn 2008-2009 collection which was partly designed - with an ecological theme in mind - by schoolchildren.

According to Dame Vivienne's non-fashion website, Alternative Resistance, the Chaos Point idea derives from a 2006 book by Nobel Prize nominee Ervin Laszlo, which argues that the world has reached a point of no return over environmental damage.

Dame Vivienne says: "We need a new set of values, a new ethic if we are to avert disaster. Chaos Point means that we have a choice between breakdown or breakthrough."