Tatler UK

Pablo Rodriguez This issue’s main fashion feature (page 160) has Argentine-born, London-based creative Pablo Rodriguez (left) to thank for the flawless make-up. He insists that the eyelash curler is the most underrated tool and admits to a personal obsession with hand creams. Having worked in the beauty industry for more than two decades, lending his talents to fashion shows (Vivienne Westwood, Moschino and Rick Owens) and haute editorial, Pablo is no stranger to travelling. ‘I love to shoot in the English countryside for Tatler,’ he says. ‘Every season has a different romance.’ His career highlight? Working with Grace Jones: ‘one of my style icons since I was a teenager’. Celina D’Abo Being based in New York, Celina D’Abo (below) knows all the best boltholes for an East Coast escape. On…

Wynyard Hall – that 19th-century Palladian mansion built at lavish expense for the 3rd Marquess of Londonderry – could have been mistaken for Aspen Valley Polo Club, with glamorous students in fur stoles and fabulous gowns posing alongside polo ponies at the Durham University Polo Ball. Best-dressed in his kilt and jabot, the Earl of Rosebery’s nephew Rafi Mahmood cut a dash as he joined Scottish swan India Baillie and more Durham friends for the evening’s black-tie dinner. After a feisty charity auction, where students battled it out for a date with polo player James Dunford, everyone’s attention turned to the bucking bronco installed in the ballroom, as the ball chairwoman, Tabitha Leonard, showed off her impeccable riding skills in a silver ball gown. Yeehaw!…

Young London society brought après-ski chic to Chelsea for Alice Chawner’s party at Stanley’s to launch her Escapiste toffee vodka – made with date syrup for those health-conscious Gen Zers. The vibe was ‘very Vogue ’80s ski style’, said Alice, whose Dachshund, Rupert, was the most dapper of the lot, sporting a smart red cable-knit jumper. Charles and Hugo Manners (boyfriend of Alice’s sister, Jojo) went wild for ‘Escapspritz’ cocktails, mixed by the restaurant owner himself, Hugh Stanley. Ex-SAS member and Gurkha Krishna Thapa promised Alice he’d take her vodka to the summit of Everest – but the only trek that night was to Nam Long for Flaming Ferrari cocktails.…

Where else but Kensington’s Roof Gardens would one find London’s most glamorous philanthropists sipping champagne among palm trees? It was the launch party for Gena West’s debut novel, Palm Trees in the Storm, and guests chatted on the terrace under the starry sky as the effervescent singer celebrated with friends Usha Mittal, Tania Bryer, Roselyn Cason-Marcus and society milliner Victoria Grant. The evening was topped off by West serenading society’s great and good with Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Am What I Am’.…

It’s a Tuesday. It’s raining. How do you get a crowd of socialites out of their Kensington townhouses and into The House of KOKO? Call social swan Tara DuRoss, who got 70 of young society’s most ebullient stars – including artist Bradley Laing (dashing in a kilt and bow tie), actor Cassian Bilton and London It girl Evie Booth-Clibborn – up to KOKO’s Stage Kitchen and Battens Bar for cocktails and pizza, all in support of the Hope and Homes for Children charity. Julia Church performed a slow acoustic set before hip-hop duo EarthGang took to the main stage for some reggae goodness. ‘The vibes were very different,’ purrs DuRoss.…

Scientists and socialites, artists and auctioneers… and champagne. Ever on the pulse, the Royal Academy welcomed 80 guests into the Blavatnik Salon for the Magdi Yacoub Institute dinner in memory of Lord Gowrie, whose life was saved 25 years ago with a heart transplant by Sir Magdi. With all the company assembled, Gowrie’s great-niece Bella Shanagher moved the party to the Reynolds Room for tuna sashimi and beef rib. After a lively auction came Antony Gormley’s speech – but things became raucous when Prince Michael of Kent spontaneously took the mic.…