“Let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to party with Sophie Ellis-Bextor?” The question Brown Thomas posed when launching its Christmas campaign last week. The campaign – aptly titled Those Who Shine – is an ode to all things disco. Think soft focus, sequins and sparkles – and pop starlet Sophie Ellis-Bextor resplendent in the season’s party gear. (Ellis-Bextor is no stranger to a good boogie: in the lockdowns of 2020, she shot back into the cultural consciousness with the wildly popular Kitchen Disco series, which eventually spawned a new album.)

Meanwhile, launching this month is boujee food pop-up House of Bubbles (on Dublin’s Crow Street). Described as “an evening of champagne and sparkling wine with casual food pairings to a disco soundtrack” it sounds like every inch the glamour and decadence we’ve been craving from a going out out adventure. 

In fashion, disco is back on the agenda for autumn winter 21. Maybe it’s a sign of the times: brands know how rousing disco can be in a clothing collection – there’s the eternal allure of excess and joviality (and let’s not forget the beautiful people). That Gucci’s latest Instagram campaign depicts a series of perfectly retro girls and guys on a light-up dancefloor brings me a serious amount of joy. Equally, at Christian Dior, an autumn winter 21 show in Shanghai earlier this year (pictured, above) proved the perfect nod to Studio 54 glamour. Models walked the runway to the hum of Donna Summer’s 1977 disco-hit I Feel Love. There was shoulder-flashing, fishnets and even the berets had sequins. See you by the mirror ball.

Main image: the Brown Thomas Christmas campaign Those Who Shine starring pop starlet Sophie Ellis-Bextor.