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Inside Claridge’s Century-Long Love Story With Fashion

The Mayfair hotel’s ties to fashion run from early 20th-century shows to Dior, Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs and today’s London Fashion Week crowd.

In February 2007, London Fashion Week came to a boisterous close as Marc Jacobs staged a lavish show at Claridge’s for his Marc by Marc Jacobs line. It was the American designer’s first time showing outside the U.S., and the affair was suitably grand. The front row was filled with A-listers, from Naomi Campbell to Selma Blair to Sofia Coppola. The moment was considered a renaissance for LFW, reigniting the twice-annual event with a sense of fun and flair.

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Four years later, Jacobs debuted his decidedly provocative Autumn/Winter 2011 collection as creative director of Louis Vuitton; he revealed that Claridge’s was the inspiration for the dramatic line. “I love it when I see these exquisite creatures coming out of the elevator,” he told the Times. “Some of them maids, hookers, mistresses … it’s very interesting to see who leaves hotels at what time, and what they’re wearing.”

These days, Claridge’s is still closely tied to the fashion world. The five-star Mayfair property has hosted everything from high society balls to fashion shows to Vogue photoshoots to Kate Moss’s 30th birthday party. Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, Diane von Furstenberg and Christian Dior have all stayed at the hotel. Each year, a different fashion designer creates a unique Christmas tree for the lobby. But how did this particular destination become so entwined with the fashion industry?

“I compare the hotel to the tapestry, and you have the different themes that are running through that tapestry,” Kate Hudson, archivist for Claridge’s, tells Observer. “We can talk about art. We can talk about our royal connections. And we can talk about fashion. We have many fashion links within our history, and we’ve always been part of the fashion world.”

Claridge’s opened in 1812 as the Mivart’s Hotel, occupying a single building in Mayfair. It was sold in 1854 to William and Marianne Claridge, who subsequently expanded the property across the five adjoining buildings and relaunched it as Claridge’s in 1856. Its location in Mayfair—a prestigious, central address—attracted affluent visitors, including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The first fashion show held at Claridge’s was in 1911, according to the Evening Standard, which described it as “a large attendance of ladies at Claridge's Hotel yesterday to witness the opening of a charming exhibition of gowns and millinery.” More than 140 gowns, as well as 100 hats, mantles and furs, were displayed.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Claridge’s was a go-to party venue. The hotel hosted fêtes........

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