Following British Vogue’s announcement of the Princess of Wales as one of the ’50 Best-Dressed Brits’, it’s becoming clear that the Royal Family are helping put British fashion on the map
Words: Amy Dowrick | Images: Shutterstock
But it’s not just the younger members of the Royal Family that play their part in spicing up the Crown’s wardrobe. From the King’s involvement with sustainable avant-garde brand Vin + Omi, to the Princess of Wales’ mission to support British designers, we take a look at the Royal Expert opinions on why the Windsor wardrobe is always so a la mode.
Princess Kate
Starting with our most popular Royal (currently rated at 68% according to a YouGov poll), the Princess of Wales has a strong track record of wearing outfits with intention and promoting messages that keep fans of the Royals – as well as followers of fashion – well and truly hooked.
From wearing a British designer for a French fashion house (Sarah Burton for Givenchy) to commemorate the unity between the UK and France, to wearing a tiara designed by Prince Albert for a German state banquet, there’s an element of diplomacy to her choices – even down to wearing red when visiting the Red Roses women’s rugby team.
“The fashion choices are not just about wearing a nice dress. There’s often a lot of symbolism or messaging in them,” says Royal Journalist Lizzie Robinson.
“These choices they make are not accidental. A lot of thought goes into what they’re wearing and the symbolism around that.”
“Clothes for her are not clothes, they’re messaging and they’re soft power,” adds Fashion Editor at The Times, Harriet Walker. “She’s acutely aware of what she’s conveying, of what message she’s giving across according to what event she’s at.”
Blending tradition with modern
While it’s not wrong to assume that public engagements require strict dress codes and sticking to traditions that have carried Royal styling for centuries, Royal protocol is a lot more down to public perception than you might think.
“I think protocol is thrown around quite a lot in terms of the royal family – but there is less protocol than you would think,” says Lizzie.
As the “modernising force in the royal family,” as Harriet says, it was her dress worn at the King’s Coronation that was a seamless example of blending these traditional elements with a more modern appeal – and the effort did not go unnoticed.
“She’s wearing a very traditional gown there, but the silhouette that she’s gone for is much more modern,” says Lizzie. “She’s also gone for a headpiece rather than choosing a tiara – so you can see elements of her outfit where she’s decided to blend the modern with the traditional.”
“But she is very respectful to whatever engagement she has on, and is very mindful of the setting she’s in,” she adds.
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The ‘Kate Effect’
“I think with the relationship between Kate and fashion, in terms of having a more modernised look to the royal family, it’s her casual looks that supersede those state banquet looks,” says designer Omi, of sustainable fashion label Vin + Omi.
And it was from the early days of her time in the spotlight that showed the power of what many Royal Experts call the ‘Kate Effect’.
“Whether it was a High Street Zara dress or Reis outfits that she’d wear, people could just go and purchase and feel like they were a Princess in waiting too,” says Harriet.
“Kate’s appeal has always been that she is the sort of every woman,” she adds. “She obviously lives this incredibly rarefied life, but she presents as the mum in the Breton top and the skinny jeans – and then two weeks later she’ll be in full state dinner mode.”
“Kate’s magic is being the sort of every woman when it comes to style,” adds Vanity Fair’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl. “This is a princess who recycles, who’s sustainable, and who’s passionate about those things.”
And as she reshuffles her focus as a Royal since stepping back into the spotlight following her cancer diagnosis, it’s the Princess of Wales’ refreshed appearance that is highlighting these newfound priorities.
“The muted down wardrobe coincides with her return to work, and that idea that she wanted the focus to be on her work, not her wardrobe,” says Katie.
King Charles
“I think the King is ahead of the game. I think he’s the most fashionable person,” says Omi – but not just for his stylistic choices.
“You have this preconceived idea that a King or somebody of his status shouldn’t break protocols”, he adds. And yet King Charles is just as unapologetically bold in his wardrobe choices as the younger Royals.
A lover of a pink shirt, the King has been boldly reclaiming the notion that styling is down to gender roles – and is teaching us a lesson in the process.
“There’s a misconception that pink is a feminine colour”, says Omi. “But if you go all the way back, pink was always associated with luxury, royalty, and expense – and it was worn mainly by men. Up to the Victorian era, pink was very much a masculine colour.”
The King also pushes sentiment to the forefront of his wardrobe. “A coat he received in Pakistan a long time ago is a real favourite of his and he loves to wear it,” says Royal Editor Chris Ship. “It’s a traditional Afghan Pakistan coat, and he just loves it and won’t part with it. It means a lot to him.”
The fashion industry
A renowned advocate for environmental sustainability, biodiversity and regeneration, King Charles has been working closely with sustainable fashion brand Vin + Omi since first meeting in 2018, playing an important role in the designers’ approach to using materials from the natural environment for their designs. Offering up his own garden waste and plant species to be extracted from Royal estates, such as Highgrove and Sandringham, the designers have been using the waste material to be made into the garments.
“He invited us down to Highgrove,” Omi says. “We wanted to explore the garden waste because they stream perfectly healthy nettles. It has to be a waste material that is going to be discarded – and I think that’s very much in line with the King.”
“There’s a knowledge that the King has around fabric, sustainability and fashion,” he adds.
So when it comes to the Royal Family’s stance on what it means to be fashionable, it’s a lot more than simply looking stylish. What it takes to be fashion-forward in the Crown’s eyes is being involved with designers and keeping up with the industry, allowing them to remain modern, popular and in tune with what the public want to see (even if that’s a King in a pink shirt).
