The dress that will spark a thousand imitations: What Kate's wedding gown is likely to look like
Kate Middleton's royal wedding dress will be a demure, high necked, hand-embroidered, lace couture gown, a bridal fashion expert predicted today.Peta Hunt, fashion director at You & Your Wedding magazine, suggested the new royal bride would opt for something traditional, but with a modern twist.
'I can't see it will be covered in Swarovski crystals. I think it will be hand embroidered and I think with lace,' Hunt said.
'She must have some sort of crown or tiara. I would imagine shoulders would be covered at some stage.
'I think a high neck would look fantastic. It's quite refined and could be quite stylish.'
She also suggested the royal bride would pick a fishtail style gown, rather than a large full skirt. I would say a fishtail, not in a sex goddess way, but straighter at the front.'
But she said the bridal gown - which is expected to be couture rather than off the peg - would have to suit the venue.
'The dress would have to be a lot grander than most of the dresses we see in real life. She's got a great figure so in a way she can carry off most dresses, she added.
Britain's fashion industry will be hoping Kate will fly the flag for the UK and pick a home-grown talent to work on her dress.
Hunt tipped designers Bruce Oldfield and Phillipa Lepley as the favourites.
Keeping to tradition would be an important consideration for the future Princess. 'Something like a bright red dress isn't going to work because it would offend,' Hunt continued.
'Each royal bride of their time has done that. They're acutely aware of it. They're all of their moment.'
Diana, Princess of Wales's billowing ivory pure silk taffeta gown, prevented brides from being stylish for too long, Hunt said. 'It took us years to get over that dress. Year after year people looked back on it and said they wanted it.
'For years people were wearing versions of Diana's dress. It should have been celebrated at the moment and then left.
'With Kate, we want to have moved on within five years.'
Of its time: Prince William's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, on her wedding day in 1981
'I'm hoping she'll go for somebody British.'
Oldfield, known for his stylish, glamorous creations, was once Diana's favourite couturier. He has described Kate Middleton in the past as more 'sophisticated' than 'Shy Di' and 'clean and fresh', adding: 'I do think Kate Middleton actually looks very good.'
Hunt said: 'The good thing about Bruce is that he would know where to draw the line. It wouldn't be salacious. It would be incredibly stylish.'
Claim to fame: Elizabeth Emanuel became globally famous after designing Diana's wedding dress
'It's for very posh English girls. Lots of lace, very understated, but if you know, you know,' Hunt said.
Hunt also suggested Alice Temperley and Jenny Packham as having an outside chance for an even more modern look, as well as Jasper Conran.
Hunt said she hoped Kate would pick a radical British designer such as Vivienne Westwood.
Popular foreign contenders would include Oscar de la Renta or Vera Wang, who is synonymous with wedding day elegance.
William is likely to wear military uniform, but Hunt said: 'It would be nice if he was dashing in tails though.'
Welsh & Jeffries, bespoke tailors on Savile Row, are known for their military uniforms, while Gieves & Hawkes made morning coats for William and brother Prince Harry for the Prince of Wales's wedding to the Duchess of Cornwall.
Copycat creations of Kate's dress will get under way as soon as she appears in public.
'It will be interesting to see how quickly someone will come up with a version of it. The factories will be making it within seconds,' Hunt said.
Whatever the future Queen finally chooses to walk down the aisle in, it is likely to influence bridal wear for years to come.
Lindka Cierach, who designed the gown Sarah Ferguson wore to marry Prince Andrew in 1986, said that whoever designs Kate Middleton's wedding dress should prepare themselves for a time of high pressure, fun and excitement.
She said: 'I loved it. I loved pretty much every moment of it. It was really exciting but there was also a lot of pressure.
'The secrecy thing was extraordinary. I had my beader's husband running around London carrying the beads and embroidery.
'I also had cars outside my house with many of them filled with journalists.
'I also later found out that some of the (neighbours') windows near where I lived had been bought by journalists so they could try to keep an eye on what I was doing.
Princess moment: Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew in 1986 in a gown by Lindka Cierach
Miss Middleton's wedding dress is set to be one of the most famous dresses in the world.
Ms Cierach recalls the invite to design Sarah Ferguson's gown as 'a wonderful commission, an exciting time but I knew it could be a bit daunting'.
Building a bond with any bride ahead of the their special design is a critical part of creating right gown. This applies to every woman including a royal bride, Cierach notes.
She said: 'I think the relationship between the designer and the bride is important because every woman is the most beautiful girl in the world on her wedding day.
Wide acclaim: Fashion Designer Lindka Cierach says she 'dreamed up' Sarah Ferguson's dress
'It will be important to get inside the head of the bride, to understand what she wants and also to achieve a sense of history.
'There will be a lot to consider and no doubt Kate will have her own ideas.'
Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed the wedding dress for Lady Diana Spencer when she married the Prince of Wales in 1981, said: 'It is just fantastic news.
'It is absolutely brilliant and just what the country needs to cheer us all up.'
The designer believes Miss Middleton's wedding gown will be a very different affair to the voluminous fairytale dress, which featured a 25ft train, 10,000 pearls and sequins, ivory silk, pure taffeta and lace, that the shy Lady Diana wore.
Ms Emanuel said: 'I would imagine it would be very different to what Princess Diana wore because fashion changes so much.
'I think that what the bride will wear will be the big question that everyone will be asking.
'She has a great sense of style. A royal wedding is always fabulous.'
The venue, still to be announced, will be key to the outfit created.
Diana married in St Paul's Cathedral 'a huge place which therefore needed the dress to be designed in a certain way to reflect the grandness of the place and the occasion,' according to Ms Cierach.
The 1986 royal wedding at Westminster Abbey was a 'much more intimate' location enabling a different style of dress.
Ms Cierach recalls she was lucky enough to have 'literally dreamt' up the wedding dress of ivory duchesse satin dress with a 17ft train. It later received wide acclaim.
Ms Cierach said: 'When I was offered the commission I literally dreamt of the wedding day. I was looking down from the Gods and I could see everything. I could see the length of the gown. I could see the pews. It was intuitive and very special as a I whole. I was very lucky that it just came to me.
'There is a balance that has to be struck - it (the dress) has to look good for the world but it also has to be intimate for when you are with your husband,' she said.
'It has to be part of creating a great atmosphere but also creating what is best for them (the bride and groom).
'Sarah had a great sense of fun and I remember seeing it (and that she liked the dress) from the first time that she tried on the bodice.
For Britain's fashion industry, this new wedding could be a chance for domestic talent to shine on a very public global stage.
'It would always be good to choose British because we have so many fantastic designers here,' Ms Cierach suggested. 'They are very capable and I am very supportive of the British industry.'
