Celebrating Joan Burstein

In the midst of London Fashion Week merriment, another very special celebration happened in London on Sunday night - the 90th birthday of the one and only Joan Burstein, affectionately known as Mrs B. With the ballroom at Claridge's filled to the rafters in recognition of the indomitable founder of Browns, it was an exuberant celebration of a woman to whom the fashion world owes endless praise and gratitude.

"There were 192 people there, and I would have liked more but Claridge's kept warning me, 'Mrs B, you can't! The Ballroom will only fit so many people!'" she told us of the guest list from her room at the Mayfair hotel, currently surrounded by "a garden of flowers" sent by absentee Karl Lagerfeld who is busy beavering away on his Fendi and Chanel collections to be shown imminently in Milan and Paris. "Claridge's tell me they have never seen anything like it!" she gently exclaimed, revealing that she was wearing one of her own vintage Chloé by Karl dresses on the special night.

Attended by friends and family, as well as colleagues and employees past and present, including her new Farfetch "family" as she refers to them ( she sold Browns to the e-commerce platform last year although remains honorary chairman), the evening gave her the opportunity to reflect on the many highlights of her career with protégeés Alber Elbaz, Manolo Blahnik and John Galliano all in attendance.

"Discovering John was a wonderful highlight and watching him living with this despair over the last few years, I was delighted that he was there," she reflected. "And Alber, he is someone who doesn't know where he's going now but I wanted him to know that we love him and support him. Some people wouldn't have made it, and would have preferred to stay at home out of the spotlight, but not him."

For a woman that has remained in the shadows of the spotlight - preferring to champion talent by buying and selling collections and acting as surely the chicest now-nonagenarian networker in the world - the turnout was testament to the high esteem in which she continues to be held. In attendance also was her immediate and extended family, who are not only heirs to her fashion dynasty but also one of the most coveted wardrobes in the world, although she admits to being "a bit naughty" when it comes to keeping her treasured fashion items. "I don't really give things away," she disclosed, "only one or two here and there, but that's good because when you give sparingly it remains precious."

"I just want to learn more and keep learning about other things that I let go while being a part of the business," she explained. "I want to go to more galleries and study the history of art. I have got all of my faculties and it's time that I used them and learnt about other things apart from clothes and politics."

It sounds like a wonderful way to spend her days, as well enjoying time with her loved ones. "I have not got many - as one doesn't make many - but I have wonderful friends. I am truly so lucky." As are they, Mrs B, as are they.