This weekend, pop star and noted bookworm Dua Lipa curated the 2026 London Literature Festival for the very first time. Of course, for back-to-back days packed with academic programming, her wardrobe leaned less librarian-chic and more fashion-nerd.
Taking the stage at the Royal Festival Hall to interview authors and artists whose works have been featured in her Service95 book club, the singer eschewed subdued academic dressing in favor of enviable runway pulls. To chat with songwriter Patti Smith about her memoir Bread of Angels? She wore a sheer top fresh from Schiaparelli’s spring 2027 runway, featuring colorful under-the-sea appliqués. For a finishing touch, she added a belt with a golden octopus in place of a belt buckle.
For a conversation with novelist Zadie Smith on Saturday, she donned a drop-waist, fringe-adorned look from Chanel’s fall 2026 collection. On the runway, it was styled with cream-colored boots, but Lipa gave it some edge with lace-up Le Silla knee-highs. Discussing with Smith the state of Britain’s welfare system, economic inequality, and Smith’s best-selling 2000 debut novel White Teeth, Lipa looked polished, prepared, and playful in her red-hot Matthieu Blazy design.
Earlier in the day, she slipped into another risk-taking look, courtesy of Prada. For a conversation with Sudanese-Canadian singer Mustafa about his 2025 poetry collection Nour, she accentuated her black Re-Nylon tank top with exposed hot-pink bra straps that would be at home in a Charli xcx music video. Indeed, with each look, the superstar veered off the course of bookish dress codes in favor of having fun.
Founded in 2007, the London Literature Festival marks the city’s longest-running literature festival. Beyond interviewing literary heavyweights, Lipa is shaping the programming for this year’s events, which will run until November 1. This week, the lineup includes a fiction showcase, poetry readings, and a conversation about the state of censorship and threats to freedom of expression. Naturally, to kick things off, Lipa’s wardrobe rotation was just as stacked as her reading list.