Lily Allen has delighted her adoring fanbase after paying an lowkey visit with her close friends to the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday.
The 'Smile' singer was one of 2 million people to attend the the week-long street festival in the affluent West London district, which takes place annually to celebrate the British Caribbean community in the UK.
In a video posted to her Instagram this evening, Lily can be seen enjoying the parade alongside a group of chums - including ex Seb Chew. The 38-year-old is wearing a grey tea towel over her bleached blonde hair and gold rimmed sunglasses, giving her some welcome anonymity for the public outing. She pulls a face as heavy music plays in the background, before turning the camera to showcase her smiling friends.
In another photo, Lily looks effortlessly cool in a Fendi denim jacket and a matching pair of sky blue baggy jeans with a tie-die crop top. Her £3,300 denim clutch bag embroidered with flowers, was also designed by the luxury Italian fashion house. She's finished the pricey outfit off with white sneakers and a flick of her signature black eyeliner.
"Dipped into a carnival," she captioned the post, which has already been liked over 5,000 times and attracted a flurry of comments. Others were slightly confused by Lily's culinary headgear, with one person asking, "Why the flannel??!!" and another writing, "I had to re watch because it looked like you’re wearing a Handmaids tail hat..."
Inside Lily Allen and David Harbour's 'weird' US home they call 'clown house'The appearance comes just a few days after the Dreamland star was rushed off stage during her matinee performance in The Pillowman at the Duke of York, after an emergency alarm forced all the occupants of the theatre to evacuate. Lily has received mixed reviews for her portrayal of Katurian in the revival of Martin McDonagh’s 2003 play, after previously wowing critics with her stage debut in the West End's 2:22 A Ghost Story in 2021.
This year's Notting Hill Carnival features a tribute to the 75th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush, a ship best rest remembered today for bringing one of the first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to Britain. Performers were seen in an array of elaborate costumes and fabulous feathers to mark Family Day of the popular , now in its 56th year. Attendees were entertained by a spectacle of music, dancers and steel bands along the three and a half mile route.
A Windrush-themed double decker bus with impressive artwork by Baraka Carberry was one of the main attractions of the parade. The zero emissions vehicle, included in the TFL [Transport for London] float, was hailed as "beautifully designed" by Mayor Sadiq Khan, who added that it "tells the powerful story of the Windrush generation and their descendants, and their impact on the carnival, the transport network and all aspects of our lives."