Dearly Beloved Guests Gathered at Dilara Fındıkoğlu’s Funereal Halloween Gala

Violet Goldstone
·2-min read

LONDON — Dearly beloved guests gathered at designer Dilara Fındıkoğlu’s annual Halloween gala, which this year was themed the “Funeral of Toxic Masculinity,” after the Turkish-British designer’s fall 2024 show.

“It’s a continuation of our fall 2024 collection. We reconfigured masculinity and tried to give it a new meaning. We’re saying goodbye to the old way of masculinity tonight,” said Fındıkoğlu after making her grand entrance at the glamorously Gothic Berners Tavern at the London Edition hotel.

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Select guests wore outfits restyled from the designer's fall 2024 show.
Select guests wore outfits restyled from the designer’s fall 2024 show.

The party, much like the show, was a Victorian mourning-inspired affair. A mannequin styled as the dead body of a Patrick Bateman-type businessman was positioned in the room’s entryway.

Its biggest takeaway was the strict — but chic — dress code.

“Veils, corsets and a lot more corsets,” read the invitation’s strict dress code instructions. “Headpieces made from bad news, tokens made of masculinity, chiffon dresses made of his fragile ego,” it rattled on, leaving no room for outfit faux pas.

After drinks, guests sat down to dinner.
After drinks, guests sat down to dinner.

If the strict edict weren’t enough, reference images of ladies wearing lace veils, wasp-waisted men wearing cinched corsets, and plenty of poufy taffeta and tulle skirts were attached to the invitation’s 50-page PDF file.

Given the high stakes, guests didn’t disappoint. Layers of gauzy chiffon were clinched with bustiers and ruffs were made from shredded newspaper. But the most fabulous outfits were restyled from the February show’s runway.

Honey Dijon attended the Halloween ball.
Honey Dijon attended the Halloween ball.

Pieces from the show on display included deconstructed Victorian skirts flung high to show the mechanics of the undergarment. Other guests, including some of the models from the show, wore keys and pin-striped ties stashed in their stockings or bras.

After downing a cocktail or two — and sufficiently showing off their outfits — guests, including American DJ Honey Dijon, sat down to a feast, which looked delicious but must have been difficult to digest given all of the elaborate corsetry that guests were wearing.

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