Unless you've been living under a rock, dear reader, you won't have missed our epic GLAMOUR Women of the Year Awards. Hosted at One Marylebone on November 17 in partnership with Samsung and the latest innovative Galaxy Z Flip5 smartphone, we threw an inspiring and glamorous event to honour the gamechangers and feminist heroes who inspire us every damn day.
We welcomed a plethora of inspiring special guests, honourees, and presenters, including Lily Allen, Halle Bailey, Georgia Harrison, Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Hannah Waddingham, Ariana DeBose, America Ferrera and The Lionesses. Presented by Katherine Ryan, Canadian comedian, writer, actor and presenter, we recognised some of the year's biggest names in music, television, film, sport and media; and shined a spotlight on women who are truly game-changing in their field. It was a goosebump-inducing night and ultimately, it gave those who've campaigned for a better future for women the chance to bask in their glory and let their hair down in style.
Whether they've worked to challenge the patriarchal male gaze through their work or fought for the representation of marginalised communities both on - and off - screen, our Women of the Year make our world a better place – and we wanted to thank them for it with an epic celebration.
Felling inspired to host your own celebration this season? While it’s likely you won’t be looking to throw an event quite on this scale (if you are, we salute you!), with party season just around the corner, we thought we’d share exactly how we pulled it off and give some shoutouts to the absolute creative geniuses and brands behind the WOTY Awards 2023. Looking to host a Christmas bash, cooperate ‘do or just host your mates round yours with some tequila and exquisite tablescaping? We’ve got you.
Plus, our favourite moments from their speeches.
The GLAMOUR Women of the Year Awards took place at the jaw-dropping One Marylebone - a stunning Grade I listed iconic Church designed by Sir John Soane that's now home to One Events. We took over the whole joint but there are five unique spaces that you can choose from depending on your event. Our guests and honourees began their evening sipping champagne on the contemporary first floor before moving down to the incredible Soane Hall for the main event. The Soane Hall, which accommodates 300 guests seated and 750 standing, was the setting for our awards and glittering dinner - and with that stained glass backdrop, mosaic tiling and 27ft (!) ceiling height, it was quite the setting. After dinner, guests moved to the epic Vaults, which are located beneath the Church and split across two floors. Kitted out with D&B Soundsystem and plenty of nooks and crannies, it was the ideal location for our after party, which went on until the early hours.
As an all-weather venue, One Marylebone offers a setting for all seasons but if you're looking to host a summer soirée, you'll find God's Garden, a beautifully designed terrace with a grill bbq kitchen and built-in bar, outside. There are also nine greenhouses that are ideal for more intimate affairs (and we reckon would make the perfect hen or baby shower lunch venue).
So whether you're hosting a wedding, bar or bat mitzvah, exhibition, fundraiser, summer garden party, corporate event, engagement toast, big birthday party or intimate baby shower, you may as well do it in style right here.
Flowers really bring an event space to life - and Blooming Haus did it with aplomb at WOTY. Led by Swiss-trained Master Florist, Michal Kowalski, Blooming Haus is renowned for its spot-on attention to detail. Just look at the snaps of those vibrant crimson red roses and hand-selected rare specimens of flora from the beautiful British countryside cascading down the stairs for all the proof you need. The best part? Blooming Haus is B Corp Certified (major!) and shares GLAMOUR's commitment to sustainability so is mindful to both people and the planet utilising sustainable and ethical resources.
An incredible night all round.
IPW1, a leading London printing company, took care of our menu printing and it was pretty damn special. They specialise in digital and litho printing and, as a Xerox Premier Partner, have access to the latest print technology and software, so whether you're a restaurant looking for new menus or party planner hoping for some beautiful stationery, we cannot recommend them enough. They also have incredible eco credentials and ensure all their paper waste is collected and processed where it’s separated into types and grades. Anything that can't be recycled goes to a waste-to-energy facility where it's turned into energy to power homes. Bravo.
No tablescape is complete without some small but mighty details like super chic stationery that really takes your event's aesthetic to the next level. For our aesthetically-pleasing name places, we turned to calligrapher extraordinaire, Henrietta Martindale of The Styled Writing Company, a calligraphy and design studio. Henrietta's whimsical work is inspired by clean lines, natural textures and contemporary urban living - and the name places she created for our guests' table settings were seriously elegant. We'll be turning to her for our next cheese and wine night menus, wedding place settings and Christening invites.
We couldn't let our Women of the Year take their awards home without a physical incarnation to pop on their mantel-place and admire for years to come, could we? We turned to HP 3D Printing to custom design our epic pink ‘G’ trophies - and they were as bold as the women they honoured. These bad boys were printed with PA11 - the greenest, meanest material around that's effectively plastic made from 100% renewable castor beans. It’s known to be one of the most sustainable 3D print materials thanks to the fact castor beans are non-GMO, require little irrigation and are naturally pest- and drought-resistant. Genius.
After a big night on the town, there's nothing quite like crashing at a luxury London hotel (or even hosting an after, after party). Some of our guests did just that at GLAMOUR WOTY's Official Hotel partner, The Mayfair Townhouse, which is part of the Iconic Hotel Group and one of the coolest venues in the city. The hotel, which is made up of 15 Georgian townhouses, was the setting for Oscar Wilde’s most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest. The whole vibe is inspired by the whimsical and flamboyantly dressed characters that pass through its doors. Bedrooms have been masterfully engineered to provide the amenities of a high-end hotel, without all the frills (think plush beds, marble bathrooms with heated walls and v.well-stocked mini bars). If you're not staying over, we implore you to pop in for a cocktail at the hotel's Dandy Bar, which is named after the eccentric and glamorous lifestyle Mayfair is known and loved for. Oscar Wilde would be proud.
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It goes without saying that no party is complete without an epic bar stocked with the finest tipples to keep your guests in the party spirit. Ours were treated to cocktails made up of 818 Tequila, the award-winning, hand-crafted tequila founded by entrepreneur Kendall Jenner (yes, the Kendall Jenner!). This super smooth tequila (trust us, we've tried it), is made using agave hand-picked by jimadores, which are cooked in traditional brick ovens and aged in oak barrels. Ultimately, it's bloody delicious and makes the perfect spicy margarita.
More of a gin girlie? You simply must try Cygnet 22, the ultra-premium Welsh gin founded by Katherine Jenkins OBE and artist and Andrew Levitas. As a female founder (yaaaas), Katherine wanted to break the mould by creating an exceptional gin designed for the sisterhood of gin lovers (hi!). Katherine wanted to give a clear message that women deserve the best, so from the incredibly elegant and Insta-friendly bottle design to the gin itself (packed with 22 botanicals, a warm heart of herbal juniper and the sweetest kiss of Manuka honey, vanilla and chamomile), she did it and then some.
We honoured the gamechangers and feminist heroes who inspire us every damn day.
For our vodka fans, we turned to an absolute classic: Absolut Vodka. Did you know that Absolut Vodka launched in New York way back in 1979? The iconic transparent bottle is inspired by an 18th Century medicine bottle and the delicious tipple it houses is full-bodied, smooth and mellow with a distinct character of grain, followed by a hint of dried fruit. It has given us some of the best cocktails and simple vodka tonics ever since. Our guests couldn't get enough of the stuff.
Feeling inspired to host your own celebration this season? Well now you know which incredible suppliers to turn to. From the chicest stationery and most epic venue to the tastiest tipples, we want to give a huge thank you to our GLAMOUR Women of the Year Awards suppliers and we implore you to consider them for any upcoming soirées. Cheers to that.
