The tie tips Prince William is taking from his father
There’s a moment where every man realises he’s becoming his father. For me, it’s the increasingly disgruntled grumbling at the TV. For the Prince of Wales, certainly in terms of how he dresses, there are certain codes that are straight from his father’s wardrobe, in a rather tender nod to the King’s impeccable style.
That’s not surprising, obviously. The Prince of Wales is never exactly going to go rogue and break into some fashion experimentalism (although we’d love to see him in some hifalutin Prada), but Princes William and Harry have always walked in the shadow of the King in terms of style, rather than alongside him.
But at the Euros, as well as at various points over this past difficult year for the royal family, Prince William has been taking more obvious cues from his dad’s wardrobe than ever before.
He chose to wear a playful patterned tie for the quarter final match last weekend, a Ferragamo silk tie dotted with a tiny football and goal pattern, which follows on from other varieties in mint, scarlet and magenta.
It’s straight from the playbook of King Charles, whose fondness for whimsical accessories has been well-documented: from prancing elephants to dinosaurs, the King likes to add a touch of the personal to his formal wardrobe.
By wearing a football tie at a football tournament, the Prince of Wales was also leaning into the method-dressing strategy which his wife has famously perfected, whether it’s wearing tennis-white at Wimbledon or florals at the Chelsea Flower Show.
It’s not the first time Prince William has deployed this strategy. At an event last month to mark London Climate Action Week, the prince – who is the founder of the Earthshot Prize, which awards environmentalist pioneers – also wore a tie from Italian brand Wilmok made from recycled plastic bottles, in a fresh mint tone dotted with florals.
He has adopted a literal approach with other accessories, too; see the Crockett & Jones evening slippers with an embroidered fighter jet for the premier of Top Gun Maverick back in 2022.
His father is adept at subliminal messaging through clothing, often turning to repaired suits, British-made shoes, and, for an event in 2021 for the non-profit Elephant Family, a tie featuring the animal. The dinosaur version featured a T-Rex, amusingly, when his title is “Charles III Rex”: C-Rex. He also favours Greek flag cufflinks, in homage to his late father’s ancestry.
For all the wealth of sartorialism at their disposal, from Savile Row to the best Northampton shoemakers, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex have often shied away from the discreet dandyism of their father. King Charles relishes and enjoys clothes – see those images of him in his safari ensembles and ritzy ski outfits back in the 70s, 80s and 90s – and he’s taken an active role in supporting British manufacturing, going as far to act as an ambassador for the now defunct London Fashion Week Men’s.
Despite those Top Gun slippers, though – and his love of velvet evening jackets – the Prince of Wales has taken a more quiet and safe approach to dressing, and that’s entirely appropriate for a man who has let his wife take the fashion spotlight.
But ties are a constant in his wardrobe – not for the heir to the throne the casual, open collar look, naturally.
It’s the opposite approach taken by Prince Philip, as it happens, who like his character was much more straightforward and upright in his approach to dressing – club ties only, no whimsy or nod to pattern or colour.
The Prince of Wales is also a fan of luxury men’s brand Luca Faloni and Hackett tailoring, and has taken to wearing the same Barbours as his father, albeit a little less loveworn than the King’s. As for his father’s message of buying less and buying British, it would be excellent if the prince continued to make the case for this approach.
Back to ties. They’ve had a tough time of it recently. Even when men do wear a suit today, it’s often with soft collar shirting that doesn’t demand a tie, or open collars. But quietly, a fightback has taken place in the upper echelons of catwalk fashion – designers proffering a more dressed-up, classical approach to men’s dressing that’s refreshing after years of casualwear.
Of course, a certain blue-blood strata of society – and the City – is always going to require and feel comfortable in a tie. But with the best wardrobe references and archive to draw on, it’s encouraging to see the Prince of Wales’s appreciation of his father’s style continue to evolve. Perhaps we’ll see him in a safari suit before the summer is out.
Try the ties
Motif silk tie, £205, Turnbull and Lasser; Dunhill silk jacquard tie, £180
Silk patterned tie, £74, Stenstroms; Silk tie, £64, Hackett