It has always been a dream to have my work exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and magically this is actually happening! It will go on show for two weeks from October 26th as part of Conservation Couture: The Animal Ball. When the lovely folk at Elephant Family asked me to take part in their fundraising event, the 2016 Animal Ball, I was delighted to be asked again. The 2013 ball was so much fun to make pieces for, I immediately jumped at the chance to join other designers in helping a great cause, with the phenomenal honour of pieces being shown at the V&A and Selfridges.  

I chose the lemur as the endangered animal that I would base my 20 creations on. Lemurs are in critical danger of becoming extinct due to hunting and the rapid and widespread destruction of habitat in their native Madagascar. They are such gorgeous, fascinating and intelligent animals, full of character, and I hope I can do them justice and raise awareness of just how much we stand to lose if we don't act now to prevent this from happening.

The creations will be on display in an area of the Museum not usually open to the public, the Cupola, and will feature works by design houses including Charlotte Tilbury, Chloé, Jimmy Choo, Alice Temperley, Georgia Hardinge, Prabal Gurung, and milliners Philip Treacy and Piers Atkinson. Conservation Couture: The Animal Ball Collection will opening in the V&A on Wednesday October 26th for two week. For tickets and more information click here.

After the success of the Elephant Family Animal Ball in 2013, Leonora is delighted to announce that she will be taking part in an even bigger, better Animal Ball event later this year in November 2016. The 2013 ball attracted a huge amount of attention to Leonora, after her iguana headpiece was chosen by Cara Delevingne and her matching flamingo creations commissioned by Elephant Family's Ruth and Mary Powys.

This year, Elephant Family, backed by Royal Presidents, TRH Price of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, are partnering with four of the most effective NGOs in the conservation sector; The Aspinall Foundation, Space for Giants, Lion Guardians and Save the Rhino to create an event that will help save Asian and African elephants, lowland gorillas, lions and rhinos from extinction. The event will be the biggest and most important fundraiser in Europe, aiming to power the conservation of the world's endangered wildlife in the most inspired and creative way possible. Inspired by Truman Capote's Black & White Dance and returning to the era of formal dinners pre-ball, 40 of the best restaurants, private members clubs and notable private homes will host simultaneous delightful animal-inspired dinners across London. Afterwards, a bestiary of beautiful creatures will converge and make their entrance at the Animal Ball, where a carnival of the animals will play out to a full orchestra fused with top musical acts.

Leonora will be one of 30 top fashion houses from all over the world creating animal masks, fascinators and head gear. These include such huge labels as ​Burberry, Dior, Alice Temperley, Charlotte Tilbury, Swarovski, Jimmy Choo, Matthew Williamson, DVF, Manolo Blahnik, Chloe, Aquazurra, Amanda Wakeley and more top names in the fashion world. A piece from each designer will be displayed at a special Animal Ball exhibition in the Victoria & Albert Museum for two weeks from the 26th of October, entitled Conservation Couture and curated by Ryan Lanji. Afterwards, the pieces will go on display in Selfridges flagship store on Oxford Street, London.

Leonora is busy at the moment creating 20 beautiful creatures that will bejewel guests including members of the British Royal Family along with animal loving treasures from the arts, fashion, high-society, film and music worlds. She is honoured to be contributing to an event that will inspire people to conserve the animals and landscape that make our planet magical. The Animal Ball will take place on November 22nd in a secret location in London.
​There will be no ticket sales - attendance is by way of a museum-worthy animal mask only. For more information about the 2016 Animal Ball, click here.

For more sneak previews of Leonora's animal ball pieces, see her Instagram profile.