The Green Light Fashion Showcase

‘Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . .’ 

On Friday night, the Oxford Hub was plunged back into the hedonism and decadence of the Golden Age as St Peter’s arts.spc, run by Lily Green, held a night of glitz and glamour in aid of The Rehema Project.

The intimate setting was evocatively decorated with glittering fairy lights and draped vine leaves.

Guests clad in vintage drapes and enamelled brooches wandered through the open doors to the sound of bubbling conversation mixed with piano music, recreating the sensation of a 1920s drinks party.

Glamorous and immaculately costumed flapper girls wafted between the rooms. The walking models posed for photos and offered handmade chocolate truffles to fellow party-goers.

Sipping lemonade out of pink pitchers, guests reclined on chaise longues in the ‘magazine room’ to read free copies of the specially commissioned ‘Green Light’ (featuring cultural articles, a fashion shoot and a guide to ’20s slang) scattered between the champagne flutes.

The highlight of the evening was the fashion show. Models jived down the catwalk in gorgeous vintage pieces, throwing poses to the audience in a brilliant array of emerald and cobalt hues.

Boys dressed as immaculate ’20s gentlemen, complete with cane and cravat, were the picture of Art-Deco elegance. Milling around after the show in their costume made guests feel as if they were mixing with members of a film set.

All the clothes were available to buy in a side room dedicated to vintage clothes and jewellery stalls. The show’s stylist, Alice Lewin-Smith, had hand-selected a variety of beautiful rings, necklaces and silk scarves for sale.

Racks and racks of silk shirts and beaded shawls were pored over by hungry vintage-lovers looking to recreate the timeless sophistication of the dropped-waist dresses and cloche caps featured in the show.

The evening ended with the transformation of one of the rooms into a prohibition-era dance hall. As the lights dimmed and a jazz band struck up with a selection of ragtime tunes, guests danced the night away.

art.spc’s vintage-themed event could not have been more perfectly timed.

With the hugely anticipated Lurhmann adaption of The Great Gatsby due out later this year, and Trinity term heralding the sell-out St Peter’s Ball, it would appear the Roaring Twenties are stil very much alive and kicking.

Photos: Olivia Yallop