VIRGIN ATLANTIC ATTITUDE AWARDS INCLUDE WINNING LATEX LOOKS

Winners at the 2024 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards held at London’s Roundhouse on October 11 included Mawaan Rizwan, Nemo, Elton John, The Blessed Madonna, Lulu… and some winning latex looks!

Among those adopting latex wardrobe for their appearances at and around the event — hosted by top LGBTQ magazine Attitude in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic — were British drag queen Bimini, ex-Pussycat Doll Ashley Roberts and Eurovision Song Contest winner Nemo.

Writer, musician and model Bimini (see top picture and below) arrived in a black latex ensemble comprising a trench coat by (possibly Brazilian) Bonyx accessorised with latex choker, gloves and stockings.

American singer, TV personality and latterly Heart 00s radio presenter Ashley Roberts (seen above right with Bimini, and in three images below), was also resplendent in black latex courtesy of London label Poster Girl’s Roast Latex Flame Strap Midi Dress with flame-detailed bra top.

The eagle-eyed among you may also believe you’ve spotted more latex — of the blue variety — behind Ashley in the picture above right. But it looks like the wearer of that outfit was not separately papped by any of the attendant ’togs so we may never know the full story on this one!

To London designer Harri — who first came to the attention of many of us as a result of Sam Smith wearing one of his more outlandish inflatable latex designs at last year’s Brit Awards — went the honour of being the only latex designer to dress one of this year’s Attitude Award winners in our favourite fabric at the event.

Nemo, unsurprisingly Attitude’s Person of the Year after winning the Eurovision Song Contest in May, appeared at the Awards fully vamped-up in a black latex horn-winged top from Harri’s SS25 collection christened ‘the Shadow look’, which they wore with a matching tight-fitting ankle-length skirt.

However, Nemo was not the only person at the awards with a Harri connection: just weeks earlier, Bimini had walked in Harri’s SS25 show during London Fashion Week, sporting one of the new collection’s most inflated creations. (And incidentally, while that Sam Smith Brits outfit might have attracted a certain amount of ridicule from some on the latex scene, it did end up in the Design Museum!)

Harri’s SS25 latex collection finds the designer still embracing weirdness in various forms but also creating more wearable latex looks, perhaps considering that he’s now had sufficient impact on our collective consciousness with the earlier extreme stuff. So we might be taking a closer look at his SS25 collection in the not-too-distant future.

2024 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Award Winners

While this article has focused on the latex seen at the Awards, it seems only fair to end with a shout-out to this year’s winners, almost all of whom, to no one’s great surprise, were dressed fabulously, even if not in latex.

The Legacy Award: Sir Elton John
Person of the Year Award: Nemo
The Breakthrough Award: Tia Koffi
The Comedy Award: Mawaan Rizwan
The Inspiration Award: Esther Ghey – for Briana Ghey
The Music Award: The Blessed Madonna
The TV Award: Lost Boys and Fairies
The Honorary Gay Award: Lulu
The Sport Award: Cindy Ngamba
The Ally Award: Kathy Sledge
The Icon Award: Vanessa Williams
The Drag Award: Jimbo
The Culture Award: Jessica Gunning

attitude.co.uk/awards-2024-winners
Photography for Attitude by Kit Oates