Click here* for pictures from the premiere.*
It's been a while since Britain last cranked out a nice eccentric film that pleased the Americans without irritating the hell out of the Brits, so Empire's been getting very excited about Kinky Boots. Based on a true story (strike 1) about two polar opposites colliding (strike 2), this tells the story of Steve Pateman, whose ailing shoe factory is revived by being persuaded to manufacture fetish boots instead. And that's kooky, which means strike 3 and sure-fire box office gold.
There was more red glitter than gold at Leicester Square's Vue cinema last night, but the stars were out and fashion's finest were teetering on heels so sharp and high they could probably be used as evidence in a court of law.
This was because a) they are all secretly dwarves and b) lots of celebrities had designed boots to be sold in aid of the Elton John Aids Foundation at the after-party, which was also why photographic uberlord Mario Testino came along.
Impeccably dressed in the sharpest of suits, Joel Edgerton and Chiwetel Ejiofor were lightyears away from their roles as Northampton shoe baron and cabaret drag queen respectively. According to Chiwetel, shooting in winter made filming a bit of a drag (just…couldn't…help…it): "It wasn't the best time to be wearing kinky boots, especially not in Milan where it was minus two," he explained. " I don't think I ever got used to wearing them! I have a pair but I'm not tempted to get back into them." Shame.
Joel Edgerton's real-life counterpart Steve Pateman and his family beamed their way through the evening, with Steve's son clearly eager to get his dad into a pair of the titular boots but settling for running round collecting autographs. Steve was in big demand but managed to avoid most interviews with the excellent excuse of carrying too many drinks to shake hands.
Lots of money was raised for the Elton John Aids Foundation despite not all boots being sold due to time constraints. Kelly Osbourne paid £1500 for Sadie Frost's creations but Cher's design went for a whopping £4500. We knew that Turn Back Time video would come in handy…