The Princess of Wales refuses to be a fashion influencer. That won’t stop royal fans loving her style
More than any other working royal, the Princess of Wales has always been synonymous with fashion. From the 2011 Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen wedding dress which single-handedly resurrected the trend for sleeved bridal gowns, to her Barbour-and-jeans casual looks, Catherine’s wardrobe has always been the focus in coverage of her engagements.
However, in a sign of the Princess’s changing priorities since returning to work following her successful course of preventative chemotherapy last year, a source close to the Waleses has confirmed that Kensington Palace will no longer issue details about Catherine’s wardrobe choices for royal engagements.
“There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing,” the source told The Sunday Times. “She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting. There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public and she gets that. But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it’s about the substance.”
Inarguably, the attention paid to the Princess of Wales’ wardrobe has always been a source of anxiety for her. In 2022, a friend told The Times that the princess found it “enormously frustrating and difficult” that her outfits tended to generate more column inches than the causes she championed.
“Fashion has always been a delicate subject for Kate,” says Bethan Holt, Telegraph Fashion Director and author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style. “It was obvious from the beginning of her relationship with William that her style choices would be closely scrutinised and there was almost no way that she couldn’t play into that. It was reported that she was keen not to become an instant style icon in the way that Princess Diana had.
“She attempted to downplay the attention by opting for ‘everywoman’ brands like Zara, Whistles and LK Bennett which was a huge break from the tradition of royals wearing custom designer clothing. She may not have embraced the latest trends but that actually endeared her to lots of women.”
Intentionally or not, it’s fair to say that Catherine has become a British style icon whose blend of accessible everyday style and couture has given women an aspirational figure to look up to.
In spite of her apparent reservations, it’s also fair to say that the Princess courts analysis with her fashion choices. It’s reasonable that royal watchers should be interested.
Catherine’s chosen ‘uniform’ worn on royal engagements is often laden with meaning, both frivolous and consequential.
She’ll wear Wimbledon purple while watching play on Centre Court – a nod to her status as Patron of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club – or choose to wear the late Queen’s pearl and diamond earrings on Holocaust Memorial Day, which date back to the 1940s, the same decade Auschwitz was liberated.
She wore emerald green in Pakistan and Ireland (the national colour for both countries), the late Queen’s maple leaf brooch in Canada and a rented (thus sustainable) dress for the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston.
Like all of us, the Princess chooses what she wears with care, based on the dress code required, and the messages she’d like to project. Unlike the average celebrity, the royals aren’t known for giving regular interviews or personal insights.
For her legions of fans and well-wishers who, in all likelihood, will never have the opportunity to meet or talk to Catherine in person, fashion can be a means of getting to know the woman behind the title.
Look no further than the video released by the palace in September to mark the end of Catherine’s chemotherapy journey. Dressed in a simple white dress (the £299 “Castella” style by American label Veronica Beard) the choice offered some insight into her sense of perspective after her cancer ordeal, backing up her words that she’d rediscovered the importance of reflecting on the “simple yet important things in life”.
Patronage from the royal family also has a demonstrable effect on sales, making the Princess a small, but important cornerstone of the British fashion industry, putting a global spotlight on home-grown, independent labels such as Beulah, Emilia Wickstead, Edeline Lee and Erdem.
When Catherine wore a £398 red embellished midi dress by Needle & Thread to a 2020 reception at Buckingham Palace, it sold out within 24 hours and amassed a 700-strong waiting list.
And when she was filmed joining the Clap for Carers during the pandemic, her £129 Ghost dress sold out in 30 minutes. No wonder she’s been credited with boosting the British fashion industry by up to £1 billion in a single year.
For all she might hope to avoid becoming a walking billboard for her favoured brands there’s no denying that Catherine’s clothes will continue to interest and intrigue her legion of fans, and for many, that interest might be just the hook to get them to pay attention to her campaigning work.
“Kate might now be trying to deflect conversation about her style but the reality is that it will always be a huge part of her appeal,” says Holt. “It will remain so even if the palace doesn’t release details about her wardrobe.”
