The Absolutely Fabulous Diet Coke Red Carpet Experience

So here's the score. A couple of weeks ago I got an email from the ladies over at Diet Coke. They asked if I'd be interested in attending the Absolutely Fabulous World Premiere in London and if I'd like to make it extra fabulous by being dressed, head to toe, in pieces from Liberty London - the famous London Department Store. What do you think I said? You're right, I passed on the opportunity. AS IF! I was straight in there and it went a little something like this. 

First, I stopped by the Absolutely Fabulous Diet Coke windows outside Liberty, to pay homage to the ladies and brand, and found myself getting more excited than I would have thought possible. Ab Fab, me, Diet Coke in hand and a red carpet (rumoured to actually be gold) await. Pinch me, no really. These women were half the reason, for better or worse, that I pursued a career in PR, which lasted for over a decade. Wouldn't they have been proud? 

In I stepped, into the hallowed halls of this famed London department store. For those of you that have never been in Liberty, mark this as a must visit if you're new to town. Their edit is insane and stepping into the store truly is like stepping into a time machine. For all the times I've visited Liberty,  however, I've never before entered the personal shopping suites. That was all about to change. I spent the morning working with Diet Coke and the stylists at Liberty selecting the perfect outfit that would fit right in on the premiere carpet for Ab Fab.

I tried everything. This is for Absolutely Fabulous, after all, and these ladies would wear just about anything and everything. At first, I thought casual might be better. Wear something bright and attention grabbing - hence the tassels, the stripes and the bright red trousers. I was looking for quirky yet stylish. In the end, it came down to a dual between two rather fabulous dresses- one of sparkles and the other a complete colour pop. Can you guess which one won the game? Scroll below to see. In the end it was all about the accessories.

So then we have the big event itself. The crowd gathering in Leicester Square was immense; the carpet was indeed gold; and there was a large population of drag queens ahead of us in line that were stealing all the outfit attention. These ladies defined the words "absolutely fabulous." When we finally made our way onto the gold carpet, each and every one of the ladies from Diet Coke was bringing some serious style to the premiere show. Eat your hearts out, paps. 

We all made our way inside, having witnessed Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Kate Moss, Stella McCartney, Dawn French, Emma Bunton, Kylie Minogue and many more enter the cinema. On our seats we found limited edition Diet Coke bottles, naturally, decorated with the two famous ladies - FYI there are three limited edition bottles, one for each character and one of the two ladies together, available to buy at Liberty London, Boots, Selfridges and Ocado while stocks last. 

The lights went down, Joanna and Jennifer took to the stage to thank the audience for their support, and the movie began. I'll just say this, as I don't want to ruin anything. The Absolutely Fabulous Movie is exactly like watching a 90 minute episode of the show. Fans will absolutely love this and will see it again and again without tiring of the concept. Go see it and check out my coverage of everything from outfitting to red carpet jogging below, thanks to Diet Coke UK. 

Clothing provided by Diet Coke in collaboration with Liberty