Joanna Lumley laughed off her fashion faux pas after she noticed actress Rebecca Ferguson wearing a very similar dress to her own. The two women looked ravishing – and almost identical – in long, black evening gowns that featured an edgy stylish cape, which they wore to attend the BAFTA awards ceremony on Sunday night.
Joanna, who was hosting the awards, addressed the slightly awkward situation as she quipped: "Hope you saw me and Rebecca doing the little twin dress thing. That's because we're nearly the same age." The 71-year-old TV star made the joke after Rebecca, 34, went up on stage to present the Production Design award with Toby Jones.
Photo: © Rex
"Hope you saw me and Rebecca doing the twin thing there," said Joanna
To viewers at home and audience members at the Royal Albert Hall, Joanna and Rebecca appeared to be wearing the same dress. But eagle-eyed fashionistas noticed that Rebecca's cape featured an ivory lining, while Joanna's was black. The Absolutely Fabulous star's dress also had a centre split, while Rebecca's gown featured a daring thigh-high side split. It was also perfectly filled out by the actress' growing baby bump.
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The majority of female attendees at the BAFTAs adhered to the all-black dress code. Guests had been sent a letter beforehand, encouraging them to wear the dark colour as a stand against sexual assault, harassment and inequality in the entertainment industry. The dress code was first introduced in January at the Golden Globe awards, when actors and actresses were urged to wear black in honour of the Time's Up movement; the same can be expected for the upcoming Oscars ceremony in March.
Photo: © Rex
Rebecca wore a similar black dress with a cape
One notable guest to buck the trend, however, was the Duchess of Cambridge. Kate chose to dress her baby bump in a very dark green gown by Jenny Packham. This was most likely because the Duchess, like other members of the royal family, are supposed to remain strictly neutral with respect to any political campaign, and are under pressure not to make political statements.
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Kate, who is expecting her third child with Prince William, may have chosen the dark green colour in honour of the Suffragettes, who used the colour to represent hope. She also paired her flowing Jenny Packham gown with a black belt – perhaps a subtle nod to the empowering Time's Up campaign.
