According to Burton, “Alexander McQueen’s designs are all about bringing contrasts together to create startling and beautiful clothes and I hope that by marrying traditional fabrics and lacework, with a modern structure and design we have created a beautiful dress”.
Kate chose the British brand “for its craftmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing”, according to the official wedding website. It is also rumoured that the bride worked closely with the designer in creating the dress, something local fashion designer and artist Wessel Kotzee has the following to say about:
“Kate’s gown evokes the feeling that a designer is superfluous and that one can be a becoming bride with only the help of a good dressmaker and a Vogue pattern. Don’t get me wrong, the craftmanship employed with the nipped in corset, bodice and expert lace finishing is excellent, but to what extent does the creativity of the designer get stifled when the bride presents all the ideas? Quite honestly, her gown looked like a slightly updated vintage Vogue Grace Kelly wedding dress. However, she did without a doubt appear VERY gracious and comfortable in her dress.”
According to sources, Kate has payed homage to her British heritage with the dress. The lace applique for the bodice and skirt was made by the Royal School of Needlework. Individual flowers were hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle.
The skirt is meant to echo an opening flower and the bodice to draw on the Victorian tradition of corsetry. The French Chantilly lace was combined with English Cluny lace. The workers washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads clean; the needles were renewed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean.
Kate sister Pippa’s (top right) flowing, figure-hugging dress was also designed by Sarah Burton and had romantic elegance written all over it.
SOME DESIGNER VIEWS OF KATE’S DRESS:
“I like the dress very much, simpler than expected: a combination just in between 1956 Grace Kelly and 1947 Queen Elizabeth dress. I love the modest veil with the Queen Mother’s Thirties scroll tiara and balanced volume of the whole gown. She’s radiant; she never was so beautiful.” Christian Lacroix
“The veil is a little flat, but because she has such a lovely face, she can afford to wear it this way. She is very pretty.” Hubert de Givenchy
“Very much in a royal tradition, reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth’s – and a little bit Grace Kelly. She looks happy, radiant and natural.” Peter Copping of Nina Ricci
“McQueen was a brilliant choice. The choice of the label and the style of the dress was a very clever mix between edgy fashion and tradition – all in a very British way. You could see references to Grace Kelly or Queen Elizabeth’s dresses, but in a simpler, more modern way. I loved her hair down. It looked perfectly natural and noble. Truly royal.” Antonio Marras of Kenzo
Mother-of-the-bride Carole Middleton (top left) decided to play it safe in a pale blue wool crepe coat worn over a silk shantung “Sydney” day dress by Catherine Walker, who was one of Princess Diana’s favourite designers. Although Walker died last year, her namesake label lives on under the name Catherine Walker & Co.
The French-born designer, who founded her label in 1977, created more than 1000 outfits for Diana during the princess’s lifetime. And in 1997, Diana was buried in a black Catherine Walker dress.
Mrs Middleton’s quirky headgear was by Jane Corbett and I daresay a great deal more stylish than the Queen’s signature “flower pot” style hats, which Her Majesty donned in lemon meringue yellow for the right royal affair.
On the subject of THAT yellow: No amount of symbolism – the double crepe wool coat and matching dress by Angela Kelly sporting hand-sown beading at the neck in the shape of sunrays – can justify the fact that it did absolutely nothing for the 85-year-old’s complexion…
Camilla (top right), Duchess of Cornwall, on the other hand opted for a flattering duck-egg blue and champagne box-pleated coat and simple dress by British designer Anna Valentine. Valentine has been credited with transforming Camilla’s rather horsey image, designing her wedding dress in 2005. And wait for this…Camilla actually wore Jimmy Choo shoes and a hat by milliner-to-the-stars Philip Treacy.
It was very much an Oh-my-hat affair (top left) as many guests jazzed up their formal outfits with flamboyant fascinators and larger-than-life hats – many by said Treacy. Some creations, however, was merely odd…
Take the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie (above) who wore a less successful aqua-blue number and unflattering small feathered hat. Her sister Beatrice went for a pale peach suit teamed with a statement hat which resembled an oversized pretzel…
Singer-turned-fashion-queen Victoria Beckham (above left) also donned a cheeky Treacy pillbox hat with embellishments, her hair slicked back in a ponytail. She chose a rather demure knee-length navy number from her own autumn/winter creation which she unveiled at New York Fashion Week in February. The pregnant former Spice Girl’s heavenly heels were the result of a collaboration with Christian Louboutin to customise a pair of the French designer’s shoes.
Soccer star husband David looked suitably elegant in a morning suit by Ralph Lauren, top hat and his Order of the British Empire medal.
Best outfit of the day in my books goes to socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson (above right). Her breathtakingly blue outfit by designer Deborah Milner stole the show. The 39-year-old wore an electric blue cowlneck gown with flowing sleeves, matching daring teardrop-shaped pillbox hat by Stephen Jones and shoes by cobbler Nicholas Kirkwood.
And finally…if Cornelia were a Royal Wedding guest, what would she have worn? Designer Wessel Kotzee did his magic…
- All photos used in this blog post are from GETTY IMAGES
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