It was the kind of London evening that makes you question the sanity of anyone wearing anything other than a bikini. Temperatures in the capital had climbed to a near-record-breaking 92 degrees, turning Hyde Park into something resembling a very fancy sauna. And yet, on Tuesday night, the glitterati descended upon Kensington Gardens for the annual Serpentine Summer Party, the art world’s equivalent of the Met Gala, only with more grass stains and, apparently, a lot more fur.
The invitation-only fundraiser is the Serpentine Galleries’ most important event of the year, celebrating the unveiling of the 2026 Pavilion, this year a rather stunning, rhythmic brick-walled wonder designed by Mexico City-based Lanza Atelier. But let’s be honest, nobody was there just for the bricks.
The Cohosts Who Actually Made Sense
For once, the hosting lineup felt like it had been chosen by someone with a map and a cultural conscience. Salma Hayek Pinault, along with Oscar-winning filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu, co-hosted the evening, a fitting nod to this year’s Mexican-inspired theme. Hayek, resplendent in a lavender McQueen look from the Fall 2026 collection (because even in a heatwave, one must suffer for fashion), spoke passionately about the evening’s mission: “Throughout my career, I have been driven by a belief that Latin American voices, stories, and creativity belong at the centre of global culture, not at its edges.”
It was the kind of stirring sentiment that makes you want to stand up and applaud, even if you’re too busy fanning yourself with the event program.
The Fashion: Bold Choices, Questionable Decisions
Speaking of fashion, let’s talk about the sartorial decisions that emerged from this steamy soirée. The heat did not stop Sienna Miller, fresh off giving birth just six weeks ago, mind you, from wearing a Conner Ives upcycled silk and fur coat. Yes, you read that correctly. A fur coat. In 92-degree weather. While mere mortals were sweating through their linen shirts, Miller apparently decided that looking fabulous was worth the risk of heatstroke. The Daily Mail, never one to miss an opportunity for a headline, called it a “bizarre decision.”
But honestly? She styled it out with such effortless grace that we’re almost convinced she knew something about climate change that the rest of us don’t.
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, meanwhile, took the sensible route in a cut-out white Tom Ford gown that flashed just the right amount of flesh while still looking impossibly elegant. The model, who recently purchased a 20-acre plot for her “forever home” complete with a yoga retreat and wild swimming lake, seemed utterly unfazed by the heat. Perhaps she’s simply acclimated to the temperature of the paparazzi flashbulbs.
Alexa Chung turned heads in a deconstructed Dilara Fındıkoğlu skirt suit that looked like it had been artfully attacked by a very stylish pair of scissors. It was avant-garde, fashion-forward, and probably the most breathable outfit of the evening.
But the true showstopper in the fashion department was Isha Ambani, the billionaire heiress and Chair of the Host Committee for the second year running. She arrived in a fluid pink bow slip dress from Steve O Smith’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, accessorized with a small fortune in pink gemstones from British jeweler Glenn Spiro, including a double cushion-cut rubellite ring featuring two stones weighing a combined 54 carats. That’s not jewelry; that’s a down payment on a small country. She also wore diamond earrings from her mother Nita Ambani’s personal collection, totaling over 15 carats, because apparently, she just happened to have them lying around.
The Art (Because Yes, There Was Art)
Amidst all the champagne-sipping and celebrity-spotting, there was actually some culture happening. The Serpentine is currently showing a double bill of exhibitions: a David Hockney collection featuring paintings of Normandy landscapes, and a major show of Cecily Brown paintings. Michael B. Jordan, who is currently in London filming a remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, was spotted checking out the Brown exhibition and chatting with the Serpentine’s artistic director, Hans Ulrich Obrist.
Kristin Scott Thomas wandered through the pavilion in conversation with Richard E. Grant, while Jeff Goldblum, who seems to be everywhere at once, made the rounds with his signature mix of charm and barely concealed whimsy. Rebel Wilson, in Louis Vuitton, was spotted looking like she was having the time of her life, because Rebel Wilson always looks like she’s having the time of her life.
The guest list read like a who’s who of the culture-industrial complex: Marisa Tomei, Isla Fisher, Kyle MacLachlan, Benedict Wong, Ellie Goulding, Caroline Polachek, and even London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece showed up in Carolina Herrera, because apparently royalty is contractually obligated to attend events like this.
The Food: Corn, Chocolate, and Tequila (Oh My!)
In keeping with the Mexican theme, culinary artist Laila Gohar curated an exquisite spread that had guests forgetting about the heat. There were spicy mango sours made with Casa Dragones tequila doing the rounds (because nothing cools you down like alcohol, right?), alongside grilled elote-style corn on the cob lightly dusted with cheese and chili, and a tamale station that was reportedly divine.
But the real pièce de résistance was an installation created in collaboration with Mexican chocolatier Casa Bosques, featuring molded chocolates inspired by the bricks of the pavilion, served with refreshing hibiscus, mango, and guava sorbets. “I’ve always been drawn to ingredients that carry entire worlds inside them,” Gohar said of the concept. “Corn, chocolate, mole—ordinary and monumental at once.”
It was, in other words, exactly the kind of whimsical culinary artistry you’d expect from an event where the main attraction is a brick wall designed to bring people together.
The Pavilion: More Than Just Bricks
Speaking of that wall, the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo of Lanza Atelier, was the architectural centerpiece of the evening. Built from brick columns that shift between opacity and permeability, it’s meant to blend with the historic brick façade of Serpentine South, once a tea pavilion, while acting as a bridge between the geographies of Europe and the Americas.
As Obrist noted, “For Lanza atelier, it’s a wall that brings us together. A wall usually suggests divisions and power, but it’s interesting that with Lanza, they’re trying to subvert the narrative by saying it can also be a gathering point.”
Deep, right? And yet, as guests took shelter from the heat under its arches, it was also a very practical gathering point, a place to escape the scorching sun while still feeling incredibly cultured.
The Verdict
The Serpentine Summer Party is, at its heart, a fundraising event for a free art gallery. But it’s also a glorious spectacle of wealth, fashion, and celebrity, all wrapped up in the guise of cultural appreciation. In a week of record-breaking heat, London’s elite proved that they would brave anything, even the threat of heatstroke and questionable fashion choices, to support the arts.
Or, at the very least, to be seen supporting the arts while sipping tequila cocktails and nibbling on artisanal chocolate.
Either way, it was a spectacular evening. And somewhere, in a gallery far away, David Hockney’s paintings of Normandy landscapes were probably appreciating in value just a little bit more.
Now, if you’ll x-cuse me, I’m off to buy some bricks and call it art. Apparently, that’s all it takes….
by PAT DAVIES