No show inside disastrous Maura Higgins Fashion Awards as feud with lead designer erupts

It’s one of the year’s most glamorous ceremonies, with stars on the red carpet including Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora.

But behind the scenes, the A-list event was rocked by what turned out to be the most baffling consequence of 2022 – Lady Victoria Hervey misread a number of celebrities, including Love Island’s Maura Higgins.

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The focus was on designer Scott Henshall, former creative director of fashion label Mulberry.

Maura was delighted to reveal, hours before her Royal Albert Hall performance on Monday, how esteemed designer Scott created a bespoke dress for her.

She proudly wrote on Instagram, “BFA tonight. . . For the first time, I can’t control my outfit. . . glad to see what @scott_henshall has designed for me.”

However, after a few hours, Maura withdrew from the event because she did not like the design.

On Monday, she wrote: “Obviously, you can see that I am fully prepared.

“The Glam team, as usual, is on top. Basically . . . dress, shoes, whatever I wouldn’t wear.

“I really don’t know what to say, I just feel like it’s not very appropriate for the Fashion Awards.”

Now ceremony insiders have revealed what happened, and it looks like Maura had a harder deal than Cinderella.

A source said: “Scott dressed Maura, Victoria and model Talulu Eva.

“Maura’s dress was meant to resemble Paris Hilton’s chainmail dress from 2002.

“In the end, it didn’t look like it at all and she wasn’t happy.”

“Scott also had to pick out shoes for her, which he didn’t.

“Then he left Maura waiting alone in his room for over three hours to help Victoria get dressed.

FULLY UP

“It was humiliating. Poor Maura was so patient that she finally got to her feet.

“To add insult to injury, Victoria left with a bag that was meant for Maura. It was a mess.

“Team Scott has repeatedly apologized to Maura, but the damage has already been done. It was a nightmare.”

Surrounding socialite Victoria that night claimed that she, too, acted like a diva.

One of them told me: “Victoria will not go with Maura or the others, although this was planned.

“Then when it came to taking pictures, she said she didn’t want to do the same shots as Talulah Eve or anyone else.

“In the end, she walked the red carpet with Scott and left everyone in the lurch.

“It was so awkward. Victoria behaved like an ugly sister who had to live at a ball, and poor Maura was just like Zola, stuck in a hotel in a terrible dress and no shoes.

Other people had it better: Jess Glynn appeared on the red carpet for the first time in three years, while Romeo Beckham and his girlfriend Mia Regan confirmed they were back together.

Actresses Ellie Bamber and Lila Moss were also there.

Maura will know to avoid ex-designers next time.

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BATTLE FOR THE OSCAR ON THE WEEKEND?

Rihanna and Lady Gaga are competing when it comes to gong for best original song at the Oscars next year.

They’ve each released movie singles this year, but now they’re likely to face a different superstar in The Weeknd.

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I can confirm that he created the theme for James Cameron’s highly anticipated sequel Avatar: The Way of the Water.

The ballad in which he sings about finding inner peace only appears in the end credits, so fans will have to watch three hours of 3D combat between Na’vi humanoids on their planet Pandora before hearing it.

Leona Lewis’ I See You theme for the first 13-year-old film shown in the sequel.

I was lucky enough to attend yesterday’s premiere, and while the film itself gives me a gag, I’m happy to say that The Weekend track will not disappoint.

The song is due out Friday next week when the movie comes out and is expected to earn him his second Oscar nod, six years after his first, Earned It, written for Fifty Shades of Grey.

Rihanna released Lift Me Up for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Lady Gaga performed Hold My Hand for Top Gun: Maverick.

Everything will be ready when the nominees are announced next month ahead of the March ceremony.

JESE AND SION COZY IN THE CLUB

JESE NELSON went public with new boyfriend Zion Foster a week after I first opened up about their close bond.

The former Little Mix singer couldn’t tear herself away from rapper Zion as they threw a party at West End nightclub Wyld.

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A source said: “The club was packed, but Jesy and Zion only looked at each other.

“They couldn’t tear themselves away from each other. It was clear they were both really in love with each other.”

But I was told that Jessie kept her booze to a minimum on Sunday night due to her schedule heating up ahead of filming a crucial music video next week.

The source added: “Jessie wanted to spend the night but also had to be strict with herself. The next day, she returned to the dance studio, rehearsing her new music video.”

I told how Jesy took Zion to Jamaica for a romantic getaway after getting intimate over the summer.

She dated Love Island’s Chris Hughes and Our Girl actor Sean Sagar. I hope things go better with this.

KILLERS’ PACK FOR NEW EP

BRANDON FLOWERS has promised that new music from The Killers will definitely be released next year.

The frontman said, “It’s more like an EP.

“Now we are polishing it and putting the finishing touches on it.

“People tend to tweak too much. We try not to fall victim to it.”

The American rock band has seven No. 1 albums and four top-ten singles, and they only get better with age, says Brandon.

He told the Smallzy All-Star Summer Breakfast podcast in Australia:

“We are gaining experience.

“We have 20 years behind us. We are still learning, but we are happy with our place.”

JAMES AND ED DUB

THEY formed a close bond over music, and now it seems like Ed Sheeran and James Blunt are enjoying a double date.

The couple were spotted leaving the chic Gymkhana restaurant in London on Monday evening after dinner with their wives.

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Ed and his significant other Cherry smirked as they set off on Monday with James and his wife Sophia Wellesley.

James and Ed are so close that the latter even played James’ hit 2004 album Back To Bedlam in the delivery room when Cherry gave birth to their first daughter, Lyra, in August 2020.

Ed said: “We were both big fans of James growing up and I’ve been friends with him for a few years now.

“He went on tour with us and Cherry became very close to his wife and we are now very good family friends.

“And we find it rather strange because we really love his music. We played ‘Back to Bedlam’ in the delivery room and the album ended while Lyra was being delivered.”