Melanie Hamrick joined Mick Jagger at the Mick Jagger British Museum event on Saturday October 17, arriving in a gold gown while the ball kept to a red theme. The annual British Museum Ball drew guests from across London’s celebrity circuit and kept its fundraising focus on the British Museum.
The British Museum Ball raises money for the British Museum in central London, and this year's proceeds will go towards its masterplan project. That project includes phasing out fossil fuels and shifting to low-carbon energy, so the event’s guest list and dress code sat alongside a renovation agenda, not just a social one.
Melanie Hamrick in gold
Hamrick, the 39-year-old former ballerina and Mick Jagger's fiancee, wore a slinky floor-length evening gown with beadwork and a split hem. Jagger paired a blue silk shirt with black chinos, a patterned belt and a white jacket with a red handkerchief, a sharper mix than the formal red brief that shaped the room.
That contrast matters because the red-themed ball also featured Melanie Hamrick in gold rather than red. The choice set her apart from the dress code while keeping her squarely in the event’s visual center, which is where these museum fundraisers trade as much on image as on donations.
Ronnie Wood and Bianca Jagger
Ronnie Wood attended with Sally Wood, while Bianca Jagger also appeared at the British Museum Ball. Lady Kitty Spencer arrived in a red strapless gown with a matching draped cape and diamond jewelry, and Emma Thynn wore a red satin gown with a structured sweetheart bodice and floor-length train.
Benedict Cumberbatch attended with Sophie, while Lottie Moss wore a one-of-a-kind gown created especially for her by GYUNEL. Dianna Agron appeared in a long, sheer black-and-silver floral-patterned dress by Erdem, giving the red-heavy lineup a harder contrast without leaving the event’s formal register.
Red gowns, museum funding
Gwendoline Christie wore a burgundy Gemy Maalouf gown with a sheer cape and a bow detail at the neck, Wyclef Jean wore a long red formal tuxedo jacket with black peaked lapels and a black bow tie, and Angelina Claudinette chose a burgundy-red velvet gown with an ornate, beaded headpiece and layered statement jewelry. Adot Gak wore an embroidered black and red structural couture gown designed by Rahul Mishra, which matched the night’s color rule more closely than Hamrick’s gold.
The British Museum says the proceeds will go towards its masterplan project, which also sits behind upcoming displays that include the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France, a display marking the 250th anniversary of the United States and a landmark exhibition exploring 2,000 years of Korean creativity. For guests, the event functioned as both a dress-driven society night and a funding mechanism for work that reaches far beyond the ballroom.
