Meghan Markle’s stuns in wedding dress by Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy
MEGHAN Markle’s wedding dress contains an incredible tribute handwoven into the design, with embroiderers washing their hands every 30 minutes while making it.
MEGHAN Markle’s wedding dress was designed by British designer, Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy and contains an incredible hidden tribute to Commonwealth nations in the veil.
Ms Waight Keller last year became the first female artistic director at the historic French fashion house Givenchy and the pair met in early 2018.
Kensington Palace said Meghan chose the designer for her “timeless and elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring, and relaxed demeanour.”
“Ms. Markle also wanted to highlight the success of a leading British talent who has now served as the creative head of three globally influential fashion houses — Pringle of Scotland, Chloé, and now Givenchy,” the palace said.
The clean lines include an open neckline to frame the shoulders, made in a double silk fabric in white to bring a sense of “fresh modernity”.
Meghan also chose to have all 53 countries of the Commonwealth included in the veil design through floral emblems.
The Commonwealth is expected to be a significant part of the work Prince Harry and Meghan do as a couple and the palace said Meghan wanted to reflect this.
The veil is five metres long and handmade, with designers washing their hands every 30 minutes.
In addition to the Commonwealth flowers it includes Meghan’s favourites, wintersweet, which grows in front of Nottingham Cottage where the couple live, and the California poppy, representing her home state.
Meghan’s hair was done by Serge Normant, with make-up by her long-time friend Daniel Martin.
The flowers she carried include several hand-picked by Prince Harry from their cottage garden, as well as spring forget-me-nots that were a favourite of Princess Diana to honour her memory. It also contained myrtle, a tradition for royal brides.
To hold her veil in place, Meghan wore Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara, lent to her by the Queen. It was made from diamonds and platinum, and was designed for Queen Mary in 1893.
Her earrings and bracelet were from Cartier, with shoes by Givenchy.
Earlier, British designer Stella McCartney emerged as a late contender to design the dress, which had been kept a closely guarded secret for months.
It comes after the New York Post reported bridal designer Caroline Castigliano as saying Meghan would wear a gown by the British designer — who is Paul McCartney’s daughter.
“Stella is such a perfect fit for Meghan, she uses organic fabrics and her ethos is the same as Meghan,” she said.
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“Her style is very underplayed, her dresses are very clean in style, very much Meghan — and they are friends.
“As soon as the engagement was announced I knew it would be a British brand, and I thought it would be Stella and people thought I was [crazy]!”
It was also claimed that Meghan would wear a tiara from Diana, Princess of Wales.
Prince Harry and Prince William arrived at the chapel wearing the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals.
Prince Harry’s coat was made from blue doeskin in a single-breasted style and took one person a whole week to complete. It has the rank of Major with large gold embroidered crowns embroidered on it
The badge on the left chest is pilots’ wings attained while serving with the Army Air Corps for flying Apache helicopters. He is also wearing four medals and a white buckskin waist belt.
Prince William wears the same uniform as the groom, also to the rank of Major. The wings are those attained flying helicopters while serving with the RAF, the two medals below from left to right are: Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Ahead of the wedding, Australian design-duo Ralph and Russo were tipped as favourites with bookies suspending betting on the real-life couple Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo.
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It had been reported Meghan would wear a $180,000 hand-stitched gown would be worn. The intricate handmade designs can take up to 300 hours to make.
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The couture house, based just minutes from Kensington Palace, has refused to comment on reports. It has been claimed by UK media as a “British designer” and is the only design studio in London recognised by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture.
Meghan has previously worn one of their glamorous $75,000 black and gold gowns for her official engagement picture with Prince Harry taken at Frogmore House — the venue for the evening reception where it’s believed she will change into a second outfit.
The label was started by the couple in 2010 with just an ironing board and has become a full blown red carpet juggernaut with 400 staff and a luxury seven-storey studio, worn by Rihanna, Gwenyth Paltrow, Beyonce, Angelina Jolie and Kim Kardashian.
Others previously tipped to make the dress of the year included Stuart Parvin — a designer the Queen uses — and French designer, Roland Mouret, who is a friend of Meghan’s.
Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen and Erdem Moralioglu were also the subject of speculation after Meghan said she had been wearing Erdem’s designs “for years” in a Vanity Fair profile about her high-profile romance in 2017.
The former Suits actor has previously described her bridal style as “pared down and relaxed” following the on-screen wedding of her character Rachel Zane.
“Classic and simple is the name of the game, perhaps with a modern twist. I personally prefer wedding dresses that are whimsical or subtly romantic,” she told Glamour in March.
“Delphine Manivet and Christos Costarellos are faves of mine for their uniqueness and beauty. And I will always be a fan of Ellie Saab. J. Mendel is spectacular as well, especially for more structural designs.”
The dress was likely a surprise to Prince Harry, as Meghan has previously said she prefers “sticking with traditions” in terms of not letting the groom see the dress before the big day.
For her first wedding to US producer Trever Engleson in Jamaica, Meghan wore a strapless floor-length dress, however having shoulders uncovered in a church is deemed to be a no-no in Britain.
QUEEN’S TOUCHING GIFT
Ahead of the wedding, Kensington Palace announced Prince Harry and Meghan chose Cleave and Company to make their rings.
Meghan’s ring is made from Welsh gold and is a gift from the Queen. Royal tradition deems that rings are made from the same nugget of Welsh gold, including those of the Queen, her mother, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, and Diana, Princess of Wales. A “minute sliver” of this is still left and is held by the Privy Purse
Prince Harry’s ring is a platinum band with a textured finish. Both were carried into the chapel by Prince William, who is Harry’s best man.
Other royal traditions include brides wearing a sprig of myrtle in royal bouquets, representing love, fertility and innocence. Brides also usually stop to lay their flowers at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior.
While Meghan wore a tiara, Queen Victoria wore a wreath of orange blossom in her hair for her wedding along with a white silk dress, sparking the trend for white dresses for years to come.
Kate Middleton wore a dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen for her wedding in 2011. Details of the iconic dress were closely guarded, with a tent covering the exit from the Goring Hotel so as not to spoil the surprise.
Ms Burton later described the dress as having “references to Victorian corsetry” with a padded hip, cinched waist and delicate needlework. It reportedly cost more than $450,000 and has since been put on display in Buckingham Palace and added to the Royal Collection.
Princess Diana’s wedding dress was designed by Elizabeth Emanuel and her husband, David, who created the iconic gown out of more than 10,000 pearls, ivory silk and antique lace for her 1981 wedding to Prince Charles.
It reportedly cost more than $16,000 and had a train stretching over seven metres long.
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