Billy Porter out-Billy Porters himself with most OTT red carpet appearance yet
Billy Porter attends The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall (Neil Mockford/FilmMagic)
Billy Porter has made what might be his most dramatic red carpet entrance yet as he arrived for the Fashion Awards 2021 with an entourage of dancers.
Ahead of his hosting duties, Porter stepped onto the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall in a silver and black patterned dress surrounded by dancers in head-to-toe jumpsuits.
The dancers – dressed in floral and black PVC outfits designed by Richard Quinn – spun and did the splits around Billy Porter as he arrived in the gown, which was also designed by Quinn.
The Pose star then changed a further two times during his time on stage. His second look was a black suit with statement feathered sleeves, while the third outfit was a yellow, orange, and blue dress by ROKSANDA.
Billy Porter on stage during The Fashion Awards 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall (Photo by Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images)
Speaking to WWD about his style in 2019, Porter said: “We decide by first trying to define what the moment is. What the event is about and then we go from there.
“I’m a very story-orientated person coming from being an actor, so I always try to have a narrative for myself so that there is always a reason and there’s always a point. I want to be a walking piece of art – political art – whenever I can, whenever I show up.”
The Fashion Awards came just one day after renowned designer Virgil Abloh died aged 41 from a rare form of cancer.
News of Abloh’s death was announced on Sunday (28 November), with the designer having kept his cardiac angiosarcoma diagnosis secret for several years.
British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful wrote: “Virgil Abloh changed the fashion industry.
“Famously prolific, he always worked for a greater cause than his own illustrious career: to open the door to art and fashion for future generations, so that they – unlike himself – would grow up in a creative world with people to mirror themselves in.
“Virgil believed that anything was possible for humankind, if only we could tear ourselves away from unconscious biases and norms and reassume the imagination we had as children.”
