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Showing posts with label Royal Couture. Show all posts

ROYAL COUTURE.....The Royal Fashion of King Charles III Coronation

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ROYAL COUTURE.....The Royal Fashion of King Charles III Coronation

Queen Style--(L to R) Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Queen Rania of Jordan, Queen Letizia, and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands

Let's begin with Queen Camilla:
Queen Camilla wore a stunning and very intricate coat and dress from British fashion designer Bruce Oldfield. The white gown and coat featured gold embroidered details with flower motifs such as forget-me-nots. The dress is made of peau de soie silk. The fabric was created by Suffolk fabrics manufacturer Stephen Walters, especially for the occasion.

The design seems to be paying homage to the Norman Hartnell coronation gown worn by... 
Queen Elizabeth...in its color and gold and silver embroidery, as well as flower motifs.

Bruce Oldfield has been a go-to designer for Camilla and was also one of Princess Diana's favorites, He has said that "I gave Diana her glamour, and Camilla her confidence".

Now...Kate Princess of Wales:
Kate wore an ivory silk crepe with silver bullion gown from Alexander McQueen. The dress also featured embroidery of the floral emblems of Great Britain including rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrock. One barely got glimpses of the entire gown since for most of the time, she wore the satin cape over it. Her beautiful floral headpiece was a collaboration between milliner Jess Collett and Alexander McQueen featuring silver bullion, crystal, and silver threadwork leaf embroidery.

Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte--Princess Charlotte wore an ivory caped dress from Alexander McQueen, with embroidery detail matching her mother Kate's dress.  

Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh with Lady Louise Windsor--Sophie wore an ivory dress from Suzannah London that featured meadow floral work inspired by ceramic artist Rachel Dein, and a pleated "cape" back. Her daughter, Louise's silk floral dress was also from Suzannah London.

Princess Beatrice--Beatrice wore a raspberry-colored dress from Beulah London. The dress featured puffy sleeves, a belted waist, and flared skirt.

Zara Tindall, Daughter of Princess Anne--wore a simple and elegant blue coat dress from Laura Green.

Pippa Middleton, sister to Kate, Princess of Wales--Pippa wore a lemon yellow coat dress from British fashion designer Claire Mischevani. 

The Royal Guests:
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain--Queen Letizia wore a bubblegum pink Carolina Herrera suit featuring a fitted jacket with pleated peplum, a fitted midi skirt, and matching purse, gloves, and slingback heels.

King Willem Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands--Queen Maxima is wearing an ivory dress from Jan Taminiau, a favorite Dutch designer of hers. The dress had web-like applique at the neckline and shoulders, long sleeves, and flared skirt, finished with a rope-like belt.

King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan--Queen Rania is wearing Tamara Ralph Couture lemon yellow dress featuring an off-the-shoulder "bow"-like detail, body-con shape, and midi length.

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium--Queen Mathilde wore a Princess seamed pink dress with an attached cape. She accessorized it with a Philip Treacy hat, pink gloves, clutch, and pumps.

Crown Princess Victoria and King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden--Crown Princess Victoria wore this royal blue sheath dress, featuring a belted waist, 3/4 sleeves, and that very popular midi length.

Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary of Denmark--Princess Mary is wearing a deep royal purple wool crepe georgette coat dress from Danish designer Soeren Le Schmidt. Originally this dress was designed for another event that did not happen due to COVID-19, but now, she got to wear it.

Crown Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit of Sweden--Princess Mette-Marit is wearing a light pink dress from Norway-born LA-based designer Peter Dundas. The elegant dress featured a fitted silhouette, bow detail at the shoulder, belted waist, and yes, that midi length. 

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco--Princess Charlene wore a nude-colored suit featuring a double-breasted jacket and matching skirt, and a dramatic draped side shawl.

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg--The Grand Duchess wore a navy pantsuit ensemble featuring a sleeveless jacket with draped detail and tuxedo pants. 

Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos, and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece--Marie-Chantal is wearing a classic pale blue dress from Greek Designer Mary Katrantzou. The classic style dress had a draped bow shoulder detail, belted waist, and midi length, of course.

Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamal Al Thani and his wife Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhain Al-Thani--The Sheikha is looking elegant and regal in this traditional robe over a silver embroidered gown.

King Jigme and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan--Wearing traditional Bhutan ensembles, the King and Queen of Bhutan always look fabulous, representing their country and the traditional textiles of their nation.

Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko of Japan--While the Crown Prince is in a formal tuxedo, Princess Kiko is wearing a beautiful Japanese kimono with Geta-style shoes.

U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and Granddaughter Finnegan--Finnegan Biden is wearing a pale yellow caped dress from NY-based brand Markarian by Alexandra O'Neill, and First Lady Jill Biden wearing a chic fitted blue Ralph Lauren suit. Commentators pointed out that their colors matched that of the Ukranian flag.

Diva Fashion Mention:
...goes to South African soprano Pretty Yende. Yende wore a custom canary yellow gown from Paris Haute Couture designer Stephane Rolland. The gown featured 8 meters of silk crepe, 5 meters of gazar, and organza and it took 180 hours to create by 3 seamstresses, in only ten days.

The "Stole The Show" Mention:
...goes to Penny Mordaunt. While her "day Job" is Leader of the House of Commons, she was the first woman to ever present the Jeweled Sword of Offering to a British Monarch. Her teal caped dress was designed by Safiyaa and featured a fern motif embroidery of the Privy Council done by Atelier Hand & Lock. Her headdress was by Jane Taylor London. While watching the coronation, she was so much part of it, as she stood there...for HOURS...holding that sword...while looking STYLISHLY PERFECT! Brava!

Happy Coronation Day!
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ROYAL COUTURE....."The Crown" Season 4 COSTUMES vs. THE REAL THING

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ROYAL COUTURE....."The Crown" Season 4 COSTUMES vs. THE REAL THING

 Diana Couture--"The Crown: Season 4" vs. the Real Princess Diana...and her fashion

"The Crown" Season 4 follows the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II during the tumultuous 1977-1990 years including Margaret Thatcher's premiership, Prince Charles and Lady Diana, the ongoing and torrid affair between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, and much more. Naturally, as a Fashion and Costume aficionado--who grew up during this era and literally "lived" these times along with the royals--I am fascinated by the outstanding costumes beautifully done by Emmy Award-winning costume designer Amy Roberts. Knowing that so much of the fashion worn by these famous people have become so iconic and made an indelible mark in our "Fashion Brains", I wanted to do a "Visual Recap" of "The Crown" Costumes vs. the Real Thing, particularly with Princess Diana, Prince Charles and lastly, Margaret Thatcher.

Princess Diana:

1981, The Engagement--The story goes that Lady Di went shopping and stopped into the Belville Sassoon boutique and received snobby treatment from the sales associates so...she walked over to Harrods and bought the famous royal blue suit (to match the sapphire engagement ring), recreated here for "The Crown".

The Wedding Gown--In "The Crown", the iconic Lady Di Wedding Gown made a brief appearance (too brief for me!) but we got enough of a glimpse to see that the show's costume designer reproduced it to the last detail. As it is the work of costume designers, they normally use "artistic license" with some costumes (when working on a show or film where the characters were real), but with such an iconic dress as this, it was wise to copy it just as is. Amy Roberts (the costume designer) collaborated with David Emanuel (one half of the gown's original designer duo) to replicate the dress. The design was made in-house at Elstree Studios and they had SEVEN fittings. The lace was a copy of the original one made in the same Nottinghamshire factory.

1981 Peruvian Sweater/Jumper--Lady Di wore this brightly colored sweater (or "jumper" as it is called in the UK) with llamas, stripes, and Peruvian lady details--for a pre-honeymoon photo op at Balmoral (photo, right). In "The Crown", the sweater made an appearance as well, with Charles' character also costumed in the same look the actual prince wore. 

Black Sheep Sweater--Designed by Joanna Muir and Sarah Osborne, co-founders of "Warm & Wonderful", the jumper style was made famous by Diana as it was emblematic of her standing within the royal family--as the "black sheep". 

Yellow Overalls--The real Diana is seen (right) wearing yellow overalls with a fruit-printed top. In "The Crown", the costume designer used the same look of the yellow overalls and the shirt, plus addED a comfy hand-knitted looking sweater. 

Pink & White Checked Pants with Pink Sweater--The real Princess Diana wore this look comprising of pink-and-white plaid cropped pants with a white shirt and pink cardigan. "The Crown"'s Diana was seen rollerskating her way through the palace wearing a similar look only the checked pants had a larger print and the sweater went from a cardigan to a v-neck.

1983 Blue Dress, Australian Tour--Princess Diana wore this blue dress to meet the Australian Prime Minister and his wife in Canberra in 1983. In "The Crown", the dress, as well as the hat, were recreated for the same scene. 

1981 Tartan Dress--Princess Diana wore this tartan plaid outfit (it is a jacket and skirt) originally to the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland a year after her marriage to Prince Charles (right photo). On "The Crown" (left photo), she wore it before her wedding.

1981 Wedding Rehearsal Printed Dress--In reality, Princess Diana wore a printed dress with blouson 3/4 sleeves for her wedding rehearsal (right photo). On the show (left photo), the costume designer chose to recreate it for the same occasion.
 
Photo-Op Dress with Prince William--This printed dress was so iconic, featuring billowy sleeves and an exaggerated pilgrim-like collar. Originally, Diana wore this dress for a photo op with her son Prince William (right). Roberts recreated it as shown above in comparison (left photo).

1983 Visit to Ayers Rock (now called Uluru) Australia--Roberts perfectly re-created the exact looks for both Diana and Charles. The safari shirt on Charles and the white button-front cotton dress on Diana were almost exact matches.

Flower printed vest and matching skirt--Roberts recreated this look for a scene at Buckingham Palace but in reality, Diana wore it for a polo match.

1981 Belville Sassoon Red and Gold Gown--Princess Diana wore this chiffon dress for the "For Your Eyes Only" James Bond movie premiere in London. The dress is from Sassoon's 1981 "Trousseau" collection. In the series, a different necklace and tiara were added to the look.

1988 Victor Edelstein White Satin and Sequined Jacquard Ballgown with Matching Bolero--Diana wore this beautiful late 80's gown to a banquet at Elysee Palace, Paris France. The look featured a strapless drop-waist gown with a box-pleat Duchesse satin skirt and a sequined jacquard bolero jacket.

1983 Wentworth Ball Australian Tour "Cinderella" Gown--The original was designed by Bruce Oldfield. It was a shimmering blue gown that featured ruffled layers and a gold waistband belt. It was impeccably recreated by "The Crown" costume designer. This one is really a stand-out!

Prince Charles:

The Double-Breasted Jacket--Prince Charles is famous for his sartorial style and in particular, his love of double-breasted jackets. On "The Crown", costume designer Amy Roberts stayed true to the stylish royal and his penchant for the double-breasted look. The fit, design...even the size of the lapels were true to the late 70's-early 80's styles of those aristocratic jackets. Also, yes, the hands-in-the-pockets air of nonchalance...as if this custom Savile Row $5,000-costing jacket was like...a common cardigan. Hardly.  

Margaret Thatcher:

The Iron Blue Lady--Margaret Thatcher was famous for a lot of things, but style-wise, it was her blue suits. On "The Crown", we saw actress Gillian Anderson take the role and run with it. And we also saw...that blue suit!

Click below to watch "The Crown" Season 4-Costumes of The Crown:


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