What will happen to Queen Elizabeth’s wardrobe, jewellery
Queen Elizabeth’s extensive and colourful designer wardrobe may soon have a new home. See how you could own a piece of royal history.
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Queen Elizabeth II’s distinctive fashion flair will live on with pieces of her designer wardrobe likely to be procured by unsuspecting loyal subjects.
Royal staff led by her confidante and dresser Angela Kelly have been completing a catalogue of her extensive collection of gowns, coats, dresses and casual skirts and blouses since her passing.
And while the more glamorous or heirloom costumes worn for historic events during her lifetime will be preserved for exhibition, it is expected much of her “everyday” wardrobe will be donated to the public.
The lucky recipients may never know an outfit was worn by the Queen unless they are an astute follower of Royal fashion, according to Vogue Australia editor in chief Edwina McCann.
“After she wore something once, they made a decision about what was held on to and what is passed on and recycled,” McCann told News Corp Australia.
“She has been recycling clothes forever. She is known to have been pretty thrifty. They remove all identifying labels and marks so it is perfectly probable that people are wearing Queen Elizabeth’s clothes and are unaware of it completely.
“It is the perfect circular fashion with people able to appreciate the clothing for another lifetime.”
The Queen was loyal to a select few brands that featured consistently in her wardrobe.
Sir Norman Hartnell was responsible for the classic looks of her wedding and Coronation as Royal Warrant dressmaker from 1957 to 1979, when he died.
Sir Hardy Amies held the Royal Warrant from 1955 to 1993, when it was handed over to Ken Fleetwood. Stuart Parvin Couture has had the Royal Warrant since 2007.
The Queen’s preferred hat brand was Rachel Trevor Morgan OBE while Anello & David shoes were handmade in England and she favoured Launer London handbags.
Burberry raincoats, Barbour waxed jackets and vests, Fulton UK umbrellas and Hermes scarfs (the only non-British brand) were staples.
The Queen’s dresser Angela Kelly LVO has been personal assistant, Adviser and curator to Her Majesty since 1994 and famously penned the book, The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe, about her years with the monarch.
The Queen’s outfits were of a high quality, made to last.
“She didn’t like waste,” McCann explained. “She was a young woman during the war and they were pretty tough times so I think that generation were far more considered with their purchases, that idea that you had one good quality coat and one pair of good shoes and items of clothing were worn for a lifetime or for as long as they would last.
“This whole idea of disposable fashion has been a construct of the 70s onwards and went nuts in the 2000s.
“She would have had a bigger wardrobe than any woman in the world and yet she was still very considered with how she treated that wardrobe and that privilege to make sure that there wasn’t a lot of wastage.”
Some of the Queen’s clothing has already been passed to other members of the royal family. Princess Beatrice of York famously wore a refashioned dress from the Queen at her 2020 wedding to partner Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
Sydney-based Brit Nadia Jones who is creative director at Australian label Nique, hopes some pieces will be treasured by members of the royal family.
“I hope that her family choose their favourite item, my dad’s favourite jumper is a treasure of mine,” she said.
Significant pieces such as the Queen’s wedding dress and her Coronation gown, will be archived but the Royal Trust would not be drawn on what will be kept.
“The Queen’s clothing and jewellery are privately owned rather than forming part of the Royal Collection, so this is unfortunately not something that we would be able to help with,” a press officer said.
There will undoubtedly be future exhibitions of the Queen’s outfits in aid of charitable causes favoured by the Monarchy.
McCann noted the Queen to have been ‘fashion forward’ with her choices often deliberately symbolic.
“She always wore a colour so people would see her,” McCann explained. “She appreciated the fact that people were lining up to see her, spending hours potentially behind barricades and they were only going to catch a glimpse of her so the stronger singular colour was a great way to signify where she was,” McCann said.
“She used fashion in interesting ways, like wearing the brooch Barack Obama had gifted her when she received then President Donald Trump. She was certainly good at sending messages.
“I think she understood that fashion was a strong way of communicating without speaking. She was about overt and subliminal messages and communication often without words is what she stood for and what her being somewhere endorsed or signified or acknowledged.
“Every public moment was photographed and getting that fashion right was probably something that put her at ease.”
Max Mara creative director Ian Griffiths noted the Queen appeared to have been more comfortable in her country outfits than on official occasions.
“In a way it’s a very democratic look, whatever your feelings about class divisions,” he said. “I took her off-duty style as the inspiration for our Autumn/Winter 2021 collection and it was one of the most successful collections that I ever did.
“I don’t think she cared much for fashion, but she knew what she liked and she developed her own style.
“That’s what made her an icon in the truest sense. I’ve no doubt that designers will be referencing her fifty years, a hundred years hence.”
Griffith recalled the Queen’s style in her Jubilee year of 1977, when he was a “moody punk rocker”.
“She seemed to visit every little town in the UK, and day after day she would appear head to toe in the kind of colour you only saw on paint charts,” he explained.
“No one else ever dressed that way; she was immediately identifiable and I guess that was the point. You could always pick her out in the crowd. I would pogo along to the Sex Pistols ‘God Save the Queen’ but I always loved her like you love a rather distant and upright aunt.”
Before Covid, the Queen would famously attend some 300 official events a year, each requiring a specific look. Royal Ascot was one of her favourite times of year, where punters would bet on her outfit colour before she was to make her way on to the track by carriage.
Professor Elinor Renfrew, of Kingston University, believes the new King Charles will want his mother’s clothes kept for posterity.
“They will do something for the nation definitely, and for the Commonwealth,” she said.
“They will preserve as much as they can. She was an influencer really, you would never have said it but she was. Everything was very understated and considered but you would not have her ever being the poster girl for Barbour and Burberry and yet she wore those all of her life.”
Renfrew feels the Queen’s memorable outfits should be on display at the various palaces and official royal buildings “so that they will be able to be seen by everybody”.
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