The Official Royal Wedding Website tells us "Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen’s work. Miss Middleton worked closely with Sarah Burton in formulating the design of her dress."
It is surely no accident that the dress bore more than a passing resemblance to that of another fairytale princess in waiting, Grace Kelly.
Who can blame Kate for using as her inspiration one of the most famously elegant and certainly the most timeless of wedding dresses? Even her bouquet echoed Grace Kelly's modestly sized posy, also of lily of the valley.
The lace for her dress was worked by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace incorporating symbolic Rose, Thistle, Daffodil & Shamrock motifs. Hands were washed every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine; needles were renewed every 3 hours and only short lengths of thread were used, each no longer than 30 cm. Also, to maintain an even appearance, no securing knots were used as it was important that the back of the work looked as neat as the front.
Sarah Burton added subtle signature McQueen touches to the design of the dress such as victorian style corsetry with padded hips to emphasise Kate's tiny waist and a beautiful folded bustle detail along with a modern v neckline, pleated skirt and 2.7m train to perfectly blend the traditional and the contemporary and so create an iconic and inspirational gown that will undoubtedly stand the test of time as much as that worn by her muse 55 years earlier.
(next...veil, tiara & jewellery)
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