IN PICS | All that glitters — and a glamorous gatecrasher

The invitation lands, and for those who get the nod to the closest thing we have to the Met Gala, it’s the cue to start skimming Pinterest, texting designers and scouring the rails to find a fit fitting for the “All that Glitters” dress code.

Not, however, for the recipient of the most prestigious gong at this year’s SA Style Awards, Connie Ferguson, who was sans gown mere hours before her big moment.

“I still have to go find something,” she casually confessed when we meet at a winners’ luncheon last Sunday at Lauren Abelheim’s newest addition to her luxury retail portfolio, Avenue 2A — the chic cafe meets boutique department store in Hyde Park Corner shopping centre.

Fresh from a whirlwind that included a trip to Botswana for her dad’s birthday, back-to-back meetings and a function the night before, the actress, TV producer and businesswoman was scoping for anything fabulous “on a hanger, that fits”.

But did the last-minute scramble show?

Not one bit.

When the woman we all first knew as Karabo from Generations hit the red carpet later that evening, she did it in full-on queen mode — dazzling in a silver gown with matching cape.

“This feels unbelievable after so many years doing what I absolutely love doing,” said Connie — who turns 55 in a few weeks’ time — about receiving the Style Icon award at the ceremony, which celebrates those rare talents who have made an indelible mark in their chosen industries, be it the performing arts, business, media or fashion.

I won’t waste too much space telling you about all the winners because I did so a few weeks ago, when I attended the announcement soirée. Besides, you’re more interested in the shenanigans.

And yes, there was enough sparkle to light up the nation during a week of load-shedding, a gate-crasher with the chutzpah to waltz in with a phalanx of bodyguards (needed, because apparently she was wearing an R8m necklace), and I got wind of a romance among the vines between a dapper winemaker and a European princess.

First up, stepping into the lift and coming face to face with a glam blast from the past, model du jour Joelle Kayembe (in figure-hugging lace Viviers), who these days prefers painting in Oslo but was back on a short visit to promote a new beauty campaign — and to hand over one of the trophies on the night.

I'm hardly through the parking lot when I greet celebrity makeup artist Gina Myers in sparkling red Anel Botha, while inside the mall (where guests were sating their thirst with flutes of bubbly, thanks to Bonang Matheba’s brand) it’s a case of everywhere you look is a familiar face.

Shashi Naidoo, who — despite her cellphone-snatching drama — is back in Mzansi after bidding adieu to Dubai, and so too is Vanessa Carreira-Coutroulis (also in Anel Botha), who was hosting the official bits with awards veteran Alan Ford (he’s compèred these awards, founded by Jillian Grogor, more than anyone else in its 27-year history).

Norma Mngoma, demure in diamanté-embellished black (I’m guessing her car-keying days are long gone), Zanele Potelwa (whose hustle in heels has paid dividends — she, along with the serenely beautiful Makoma Mohale, were crowned Next Big Thing) and Buhle Samuels, in a snatched-in-all-the-right-places gown by Sihle Masango.

Now, some might say that Buhle’s gown looked like the marriage between a packet of Liquorice Allsorts and a bedazzler, but I was more interested in whether Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa has single-handedly created a new ostrich feather boom via her gown, which boasted plumes galore.

Aah, but let’s ignore the ladies for a minute, and take a moment to recognise Zanele’s Hotspot Seli colleague, Siphesihle Vazi, who is coming out of his shell in the fashion stakes — you gotta admire a man brave enough to step out of his clothing comfort zone without being able to see clearly thanks to a silk scarf covering his mug.

“I usually stand out on my own because of my pretty face, but tonight I thought: Let me give fashion a chance,” quipped Vazi about his Project Inflamed ensemble.

Needing to catch my breath from all the glitter, I snuck upstairs to where the main festivities were set to take place on the sixth floor of the Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel, where I caught up with my fellow 2023 SA Style award winner, Kim Jayde, who said the night gave her “proud big sister” energy.

“I feel like a proud big sister, watching the next generation of winners come through and celebrate them, and passing the torch on,” she said.

You’ll want to know about that romance, and it was delightful to learn that winemaker Anthony Hamilton Russell has sweetly found love again — and with a chic brunette who hails from a long royal European lineage.

Welcome to the Mzansi social set Philippa Hohenzollern (Her Serene Highness Princess Philippa Marie Carolina Isabelle of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is a bit of a mouthful).

And as for the RSVP rebel (her name didn’t appear on the list I had a squizz at)?

At least the KZN-hailing songstress who calls herself AzureDé couldn’t be faulted for taking the dress code seriously: that Tanzanite necklace was so bright you’d probably be able to see it from outer space.