The back-to-school energy was palpable last night as 39BC hosted an intimate evening at The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, nestled within the autumn-leaf-strewn campus of University College London in Bloomsbury.
Guests arriving at The Petrie were welcomed by one of the world’s most significant collections of Egyptian and Sudanese artefacts – and the first reveal of 39BC’s debut collection.
Winding through the museum’s labyrinth of glass cabinets, filled with relics of ancient beauty and power, attendees including Olympian Dina Asher-Smith, journalist Raven Smith, and entrepreneurs Michelle Kennedy and Isamaya Ffrench, sipped wine and explored 39BC’s intoxicating shower oils for the first time.
For Dina, Silk Veil was a clear standout: “I just love Ylang Ylang,” she said, alluding to the product’s signature top note. “That’s my forever favourite.”
Meanwhile, Mile co-founder Jordan Grant was transported by Fig Milk. “I’m just being sucked into this world,” said the tastemaker (and 39BC muse), fabulous as ever in an oversized YSL leather jacket and knee-high thong-toe boots. “Sharmadean is building this whole brand universe and I just want to be a part of it.”
After an hour of mingling and enthusiastic sampling of the full four-piece Shower Oil range, Georgia May Jagger, designer Henry Holland, Bleach co-founder Alex Brownsell, and Alighieri founder Rosh Mahtani took their seats for the evening’s main event: a captivating conversation between 39BC founder Sharmadean Reid and esteemed Egyptologist, Professor Joann Fletcher.
Over the next hour, the pair offered an animated crash course in the life and legend of Cleopatra VII — last Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt and the guiding muse behind the 39BC brand. Surrounded by the museum’s astounding collection — from pyramid texts to intricate cosmetic utensils and statues of the goddess Isis — Professor Fletcher brought Cleopatra to life, from her perfumed silk-sailed journeys down the Nile to her dramatic death via cobra venom, administered with the help of her loyal hairdresser using a disguised hairpin.
By night’s end, guests described the event as a kind of return to university – one with perfume-scented glamour and professor-level storytelling.
“I feel enriched,” said Dina Asher-Smith. “I’ve never been that interested in history before, but now I’m wondering why I haven’t immersed myself,” added Jordan Grant.
For Professor Fletcher - whose halo of crimson curls echoed the 39BC silk-draped backdrop - the evening was a joyful chance to share her life’s work with a newly spellbound audience:
“It’s such a unique and beautiful way to share the story of Cleopatra and her world. 39BC is just genius, and the whole evening has been a privilege and a pleasure.”
And her personal pick from the 39BC collection?
“Oh, it’s absolutely Denarii,” she said. “It’s spicy, with real depth – and I love the patchouli. I’m just an old hippy at heart.”
