The most stylish attendees at the art show that’s better than fashion week

If you’re feeling a little uninspired by your wardrobe, then the attendees at the Frieze contemporary art fair could inspire you out of your style rut. 

The week-long event, held in London’s Regent’s Park, is in its 20th year and has become a draw not just for collectors and art lovers, but for actors, socialites, royals and anyone who likes to see and be seen. 

Fashion designers form a significant tranche of the VIP guests. Among those on the first day this year were Raf Simons, Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Roksanda Ilincic, Rejina Pyo and Sir Ozwald Boateng. Yana Peel, Global Head of Arts and Culture at Chanel, Dazed founder Jefferson Hack, and Labrum’s Foday Dumbuya, who was given the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design by King Charles, were also in attendance.

They weren’t the only well-dressed guests. Far from it. You only need to linger around the entrance for a few minutes to see why, from a style perspective, Frieze makes for such brilliant people-watching. 

The vibe is best described as “creative intellectual”; these are individuals with taste, but also the confidence to ignore trends and create a look that’s very much their own. It’s better, I’d argue, than London Fashion Week, which, these days, is populated by far too many influencers styled to within an inch of their lives in one brand head-to-toe, and out-there peacocks who bait photographers with increasingly wacky looks that have little to do with actual style. 

Noorunisa, a photographer who has covered both London Fashion Week and Frieze in the past, wouldn’t say that one event is better than the other, but acknowledges that there is a different aesthetic. “I think the people that attend Frieze are definitely stylish but it’s more understated and a lot more wearable looks – which I love, but makes less of a statement.”

What is clear is that there’s a greater degree of sartorial spontaneity among the Frieze crowd. They’re not trying too hard, which is the nail in the coffin when it comes to carrying off a look. That said, there are still three distinct tribes of people, easily identifiable by their wardrobes. 

First, there are the Serious Collectors, the raison d’etre for the whole thing. The wardrobe is “quiet-ish luxury” – shirts, fine knits and well-cut-yet-casual tailoring in a muted palette – but the Chanel slingbacks, Hermes bags and Cartier watches give their status away. 

Tschabalala Self epitomised the look in her Hermes jacket and Bottega Veneta boots. They weren’t all so understated, though: Esther Heer’s Chanel top, Gucci skirt and Lanvin coat made for a joyful yet elegant combination. 

Then there are the gallerists: they’re the ones in Jil Sander, Roksanda and Old Céline (all accessorised with a fair lanyard) the kind of labels that you can recognise by a particular cut, texture or silhouette, rather than a logo. 

They’re more inclined to wear bold colour than busy prints, and their shoes are almost universally flat – loafers, Mary-Janes (Vibi Venezia appears to be the go-to brand for this set), Adidas Sambas, because they’re on their feet all day.

Georgina Wimbush, a director at White Cube, said she’d been getting compliments on her Russell & Bromley heels all day, which she assured me were surprisingly comfortable and coordinated perfectly with her Sezane jacket and Roland Mouret trousers.

And lastly there are the artists, who really don’t care what you think of their clothes, they’re dressing for themselves. They’re still pretty cool: artist Marc Quinn was in a Palm Angels tracksuit, designer Zeena Shah in a pink Clueless-esque skirt suit, sculptor Zack Mclaughlin in a white tee and dark green shacket. 

Of course there’s overlap. We’re all influenced by those around us, and these tribes don’t exist in silos. The aesthetics bleed into one another, and there are some style hallmarks that tend to be as universal at Frieze as the gallery-branded canvas tote bags on every other shoulder. If sunglasses are essential armour at Fashion Week, bold-framed optical eyewear is the equivalent at Frieze. There were lots of black frames, but red, beige and white frames too – well worth considering next time you replace your specs. 

The bold lip is also a Frieze favourite. This crowd isn’t scared of a bright hue, they know it can lift the whole face, and teamed with statement glasses, can become part of one’s identity.

There are lots of wide, barrel-leg trousers on men and women, Issey Miyake pleats and oversized trench coats that seem to have universal appeal. There was lots of tailoring in punchy colours – author Katy Hessel’s yellow Bella Freud was a standout.

With such stylish guests, it’s no wonder luxury fashion brands increasingly want to align with Frieze. They share a target market of high-net-worth individuals with an interest in the arts, so having a presence in the tent is a valuable marketing opportunity. Dunhill is sponsoring a series of Frieze Masters talks, while Italian luxury streetwear brand Stone Island has offered bursaries to emerging galleries, covering up to 30 per cent of the cost of a stand at the fair.

Last year, when the late Queen’s funeral fell in the middle of London Fashion Week, several brands, including Alexander McQueen, postponed their catwalk shows, and staged them during Frieze instead. It’s something we can expect to see more of in the future.

“We have a very strong history of working with luxury fashion brands, but I would say that has grown,” says Emily Glazebrook, Frieze’s Commercial Director. “We see it across all of our cities, the relationship with fashion is strong, but ‘Frieze Week’ is a term – not coined by us – that is used in London… There is so much going on. We’re partnering with Gucci and Loewe on things that are happening throughout the city.”

It’s true, there have been so many Frieze-adjacent fashion events. Gucci Cosmos, a travelling exhibition designed by Es Devlin, has opened in London to coincide with Frieze. Harper’s Bazaar held an art party at Annabel’s to mark the occasion, Bulgari hosted a star-studded dinner. 

Prada has taken over Selfridges Corner Shop with the Prada Reporter collection, inspired by eight Magnum photographers. At one point it was widely believed that former Celine creative director Phoebe Philo would be launching her new brand during Frieze, but it’s since been announced that it will launch later in the month.

Frieze isn’t going to replace London Fashion Week anytime soon, but we should expect to see more blurring of the lines. Just look at the V&A’s hit Chanel exhibition. Next, it’s staging a Naomi Campbell retrospective. It goes both ways.

But the best thing about Frieze, and the most important distinction from London Fashion Week, is that it’s open to the public – a chance to see world-class contemporary art and a fashion show? Sign me up.

More fashion at Frieze…

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