Dua Lipa Was in Selfie Mode at the Wildest BRITs Afterparty

Dua Lipa, singer, entrepreneur, actor, and Mermaid Barbie, played a new role last night: proud sister. Resplendent as ever in a structured corset gown and with best friend Sarah Lysander (and a trademark martini) in tow, she excitedly snapped and filmed her brother Gjin Lip as he worked the decks, dancing and hyping him up like the ultimate proud sister, before Groove Armada took over the booth.

Welcome to Hennessy and Warner Music Group’s 24 Hour Party Poodles, the most gloriously unhinged afters of this year’s BRIT Awards.

(Image credit: Warner Music & Hennessy)

All Aboard the Party Express

Technically, the night began 200 miles away. Prior to the ceremony, artists and insiders, including Harris Dickinson, Nick Grimshaw, AJ Odudu, and Jaime Winstone (who belted out a rendition of Britpop hit You’re Gorgeous mid-journey), gathered at Euston Station to board the legendary British Pullman. The art deco carriages, all polished walnut wood and plush upholstery, felt less like a train and more like a moving film set. In fact, the train has played host to many iconic films, and this year sees Baz Luhrmann unveil his bespoke decorated carriage on the historic train. Uniformed bellboys whisked guests into private cabins where flutes of Hennessy Paradis and icy Henny-Ritas appeared as if by magic.

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(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

Enter the Poodles

By the time the train pulled into Manchester, the tone had been set, and that booze-fuelled pandemonium continued post-awards show at The Cut & Craft, which had been transformed for the night. Looming at the entrance was a five-metre-tall poodle installation, a playful update on last year’s bejewelled bananas.

The theme, “Party Poodles,” riffed on the rebellious spirit of 24 Hour Party People and Manchester’s clubland mythology, blending archival nods to cultural icons and their dogs, from David Bowie to Winston Churchill, with glossy nightlife theatrics.

Inside, guests, including Rosé, who earlier that night had become the first K-pop artist to win a BRIT Award, danced on poodle-covered carpets while oversized inflatable sculptures floated overhead.

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

The Soundtrack of the Night

Upstairs, DJ sets rolled from G2 to Kim Turnbull before Gjin Lipa and Tommy Gold amped the energy to a fever pitch. Then came Groove Armada for a heady dose of nostalgia. Sequins sent spectrums of light across the room, glinting against the light of serving platters filled with bespoke Hennessy cocktails, including the Hennessy X.O Espresso Martini.

Downstairs, Manchester collective Suns of Acid, the next-gen offspring of 808 State and Happy Mondays, hosted a hedonistic basement club that paid homage to the city’s acid house roots. Fittingly, Bez was one of the last guests to leave, having traded his signature maracas for a gargantuan baker boy hat.

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

The Morning After

If most afterparties end in bleary-eyed goodbyes, this one came with a Sunday service. Guests reconvened aboard the British Pullman for the journey back to London, where a Sunday roast was served alongside Hennessy Ice Teas. Guests were overheard initially refusing the welcome Bloody Marys but were soon quaffing Champagne and signature Hennessy bevs. By the time London came back into view, the poodles had been defeated, but the mood hadn’t.

Photos From The Night

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)

(Image credit: James D. Kelly)