Inside ELLE's Intimate Cocktail Party Launching Its 40th Anniversary

Inside ELLE’s Intimate Cocktail Party Launching Its 40th Anniversary

Posted by author January 24, 2025 Fashion

This week friends of ELLE UK – including BAFTA-nominated actors and some chart topping stars – gathered at the Louis Vuitton apartment in London for an intimate cocktail to kick-off its 40th anniversary year of celebrations and its formidable cover with Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo.

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Kenya Hunt, ELLE editor-in-chief with actor Stacy Martin

Guests included actors Stacy Martin and Marianne Jean Baptiste, writers Otegha Uwagba and Olivia Petter, presenters Clara Amfo and AJ Odudu and designers Marco Capaldo of 16Arlington and Rejina Pyo, along with ELLE contributing editors and a range of London creatives including Rose Gray and Chloe Qisha.

a silver tray holding french fries and dipping sauces

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magazines and decorative items on a table

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Beef sliders and fries in monogrammed Louis Vuitton boxes alongside scallop ceviche and tomato tarte tatins circulated the room, paired with salt-rimmed margaritas and Ruinart champagne.

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The party only paused for a celebratory toast from editor-in-chief Kenya Hunt, who noted, ‘It feels like a good moment to put some joy and love and lightness out there into the world.

‘Joy can give you energy, energy for a change – and that’s the spirit that we want to take into this year,’ she said.

Adding, ‘One of the things I’ve always loved about ELLE, even as a reader long before I ever joined, is that it always connected the dots between fashion and the world around it and really gave readers a sense of possibility and inclusivity and I think, 40 years later, we’re very much still doing that.’

three women posing together in front of a vibrant red backdrop

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three women dressed in stylish outfits each holding accessories pose together

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British Fashion Designers Georgiana Huddart, Rejina Pyo and Hannah Weiland

Djs Born and Bread ensured an authentic and refreshing playlist kept the dancefloor filled with R’n’B nostalgia and crowd pleasers like Robyn’s ‘Dancing on My Own’.

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two women dressed in evening attire holding drinks at a social gathering

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Writers Otegha Uwagba and Olivia Petter

Guests at the intimate affair were also invited to partake in special portraits on the night set against a tower of Louis Vuitton trunks.

Despite London’s damp, dreary skies, the event put the January blues to bed providing a stellar launch moment for ELLE UK’s 40th anniversary celebrations that are set to take place across the next 12 months.

two individuals dressed in black attire at a social event

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Marco Capaldo with Maxim Magnus

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Jade Thirwall with Clara Amfo

three individuals in stylish outfits at a social event showcasing vibrant colors and fashionable attire

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two women holding drinks showcasing their fashion styles in a social setting

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ELLE commissioning editor Naomi Pike and Emma Hope Allwood

two women dressed in stylish outfits one holding a small red bag

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Rejina Pyo and Justine Simons

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Kenya Hunt and Zezi Ifore

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Aja Barber, Kelechi Okafor and Zeze Millz

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