Last night was the re-launch of sixties club and restaurant Barbarella. Situated on the Fulham Road in Chelsea, it’s a place I’ve driven past so many times, but never knew what it was, until I received the invite to the star-studded bash and Googled it; ‘Ooooooh, that’s what it is!’
With it’s iconic canopied entrance leading down into a large basement, Barbarella is self-styled as the ‘den of iniquity’, and back in the day was the place to see and be seen. The go-to for a debaucherous night dancing on tables with the ‘in’ crowd. For a while Barbarella languished, and lost its touch. but now, it’s back, with new owners and management and the next generation of clubbers. After a £2million refurb and three of the most successful club owners in London at its helm, the den of iniquity has made a triumphant return, and revellers are dancing on the tables once more.
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| Official Press Photo |
With James Blunt rocking his trademark casual look in a sea of fashionistas and made-up party-goers, and Guy Pelly buying us ladies champagne and looking rather suave (he’s such a gentleman and absolutely lovely!), the re-launch party was a hit with everyone! Peaches Geldof looked lovely in a blue flowing floral dress, and the DJ’s well chosen tunes were getting everyone dancing. Even more exciting for the fashion lovers amongst us, is that the waitresses’ uniforms were designed by Pearl Lowe, and they are absolutely gorgeous!
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| Official Press Photo |
The decor itself was cool and classy, with lots of different areas and the layout a little bit of a maze, which gave us great joy ‘exploring’ and we found ourselves on the dance floor saying ‘It’s huge! Let’s walk around again!’ Yes…it was that fun and interesting to go around, and we were that drunk.
I blame Guy.
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| Official Press Photo |
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| Possibly the coolest wall ever for the ladies toilets? |
It was also a great place for people watching, as the crowd was so mixed – from the older generation of clubbers, who you could tell were ‘the ones’ during their hay-day, to us, the new generation exploring these wonderful old institutions and breathing new life (and dance moves) into them.
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| The DJ…and people standing in the way *rolls eyes* |
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| Dance Floor |
Sadly I didn’t get any photos of my full outfit as I had a major Gregory from a heavy dinner (such a big mistake!), but I loved my nail polish against my top so much I had to take a photo. I wore black heels, black skinny jeans, a pink peplum top, and a white blazer. I’ll wear the outfit again soon and make sure I get a photo minus the Gregory! My nail polish is from the OPI Skyfall Collection, and the shade is ‘The World Is Not Enough’.
Mina from KingsRoadRocks and I had such a great time at Barbarella, and we’ve already promised ourselves we’ll go back soon! If you fancy a night of debauchery at Barbs, throw some heels on (yes, even you boys) and head down, I promise you’ll have a wonderful time, and the staff are fab! I went to the bathroom, and returned to see one of the bar men had stopped serving everyone to make Mina a paper rose out of a napkin :O Now if that isn’t personalized service for you, I don’t know what is!
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
