Franklin Dean
Kate Middleton's wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, is an iconic long-sleeve V-neck gown. The dress was made using a combination of traditional and modern techniques, including floral motifs cut out of machine-made lace and stitched to machine net. The lace for the dress was produced by three companies: Sophie Hallette, Solstiss, and the Cluny Lace Company. The dress sparked a trend for long-sleeved gowns and inspired many copycats, including celebrity brides.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Designer | Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen |
| Style | Long-sleeve V-neck gown |
| Material | Lace, satin gazar, organza, and silk |
| Colour | Ivory and white |
| Train Length | 2 meters and 70 centimeters (almost 9 feet) |
| Lace Type | Leavers lace, Carrickmacross lace |
| Lace Suppliers | Sophie Hallette, Solstiss, Cluny Lace Company |
| "Something Blue" | Sewn inside the dress |
| Tiara | Diamond and platinum, crafted by Cartier in 1936 |
| Bouquet | Lily-of-the-valley, sweet William, hyacinth, ivy, and myrtle |
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What You'll Learn
The dress designer: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen
The designer of Kate Middleton's wedding dress was Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen. Burton was chosen by Middleton in January 2011, but the decision was kept under wraps until the wedding day.
Burton's work first came to Middleton's attention in 2005 when she attended the wedding of Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Burton had designed the bridal gown for Bowles' bride, fashion journalist Sara Buys.
In a statement, Burton said:
> "It has been the experience of a lifetime to work with Catherine Middleton to create her wedding dress, and I have enjoyed every moment of it. It was such an incredible honour to be asked, and I am so proud of what we and the Alexander McQueen team have created. I am delighted that the dress represents the best of British craftsmanship."
The dress was a long-sleeve V-neck gown with a fitted bodice made of lace appliqué and a skirt of ivory and white satin gazar, designed to resemble the opening of a flower. The lace used for the dress was produced by three companies: Sophie Hallette and Solstiss in France, and the Cluny Lace Company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. The majority of the dress is made using Solstiss lace, specifically the skirt and train. The lace motifs were cut out and rearranged to achieve the effect required by the designer, then stitched in place on silk net by expert embroiderers from the Royal School of Needlework.
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The lace: French and English lace
The lace used for Kate Middleton's wedding dress was sourced from both France and England. The French lace was made in Caudry, around 20 miles from Lille, by the family-run lacemakers Sophie Hallette, founded in 1887. The company supplies lace to brands such as Dior, Givenchy, and Alexander McQueen, and created the lace used in Kate Middleton's dress. The lace was made using the Leavers lace technique, which originated in Nottingham, England.
The English lace was made by the Cluny Lace Company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. This lace was used on the underskirt of the bride's dress, on the train, and around the neck and sleeves of the bridesmaids' dresses and their underskirts.
The lace was cut out and rearranged to achieve the desired effect, and then stitched onto silk net by expert embroiderers from the Royal School of Needlework. The technique used was influenced by the traditional Carrickmacross lace-making technique from Ireland, which involves cutting floral motifs out of lace and stitching them onto a net. The lace used for the dress has since been renamed "Kate's lace".
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The skirt: ivory and white satin gazar
The skirt of Kate Middleton's wedding dress was made of ivory and white satin gazar. The satin gazar arches and pleats were designed to echo an opening flower, with the pleats pooling into a train that measured 2 metres and 70 centimetres, or almost 9 feet. The dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
The dress was made using a combination of traditional and modern techniques. The lace for the dress was produced on large 19th-century machines and then cut out and stitched to machine net. The lace was sourced from three companies: Sophie Hallette, Solstiss, and the Cluny Lace Company. The majority of the dress was made using Solstiss lace, specifically for the skirt and train. The styles of machine lace are called "English Cluny" and "Chantilly".
The dress was designed to pay tribute to the United Kingdom through its lace embroidery. The lace was influenced by the traditional Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 19th century. The team of seamstresses working on the dress washed their hands every 30 minutes to protect the brilliance of the pristine lace and threads.
The dress sparked a trend for long-sleeved wedding gowns and has been described as timeless and classic. It has been credited with influencing bridal styles in the years following the wedding and has been replicated by many brides, including celebrities.
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The train: nearly 9 feet long
The train of Kate Middleton's wedding dress stretched nearly 9 feet (2 meters and 70 centimeters) long. The lace used for the train was designed using Ireland's 19th-century Carrickmacross lace-making techniques. The lace motifs were cut out and rearranged to achieve the desired effect. The lace was then stitched onto silk net by expert embroiderers from the Royal School of Needlework.
The lace used for the dress was produced by three companies: Sophie Hallette and Solstiss in France, and the Cluny Lace Company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. The majority of the dress featured Solstiss lace, specifically on the skirt and train. The styles of machine lace are known as "English Cluny" and "Chantilly". However, these names should not be confused with the older handmade bobbin laces that share the same names.
Sophie Hallette, a family-run lace maker founded in 1887 and based in Caudry, France, supplied the lace for Kate Middleton's dress. The lace was not specially commissioned for the dress, but rather chosen from stock patterns. In fact, Sophie Hallette's "950264" lace is now known as "Kate's lace".
The train of the wedding dress was not the longest in royal history. Her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, had a wedding dress with a 25-foot train that was so long it had to be folded like a bedsheet to fit inside her carriage.
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The influence: set wedding trends for years to come
The influence of Kate Middleton's wedding dress extended far beyond the day of the royal wedding. The gown, designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, set wedding trends for years to come and sparked a flurry of copycat gowns, even among celebrity brides.
The choice of a long-sleeved gown was predicted to signal the end of the strapless wedding dress era, and indeed, in the years following the royal wedding, brides continued to take inspiration from Middleton's choice of a long-sleeved, lace gown. Nicky Hilton, for example, chose a long-sleeved, lace Valentino gown for her 2015 wedding, citing Grace Kelly—whose dress was also echoed in Middleton's lace bodice—as her true inspiration. Allison Williams and Geri Halliwell were also among the celebrities who donned similar-style gowns.
The dress's impact extended beyond the style of the gown itself. The exhibition of the dress at Buckingham Palace, alongside other items from the royal wedding, attracted a record number of visitors in the summer of 2011 and helped raise around £10 million towards Middleton's charity fund and the Royal Collection.
The gown's influence can also be seen in the resurgence of interest in lace, with the lace used in Middleton's dress—a combination of French lace by Sophie Hallette and Solstiss, and English lace by the Cluny Lace Company—gaining particular attention. The popularity of lace, according to Sophie Hallette's chief executive, "goes in waves," and the choice of lace for the royal wedding dress undoubtedly influenced bridal style in the years to come.
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Frequently asked questions
The dress was designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen and was made of French lace, sourced from Sophie Hallette and Solstiss, and English Cluny lace, sourced from the Cluny Lace Company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. The dress also featured an ivory and white satin gazar skirt, designed to resemble the opening of a flower.
The dress was a long-sleeve V-neck gown with a fitted bodice and a nearly 9-foot-long train. The lace overlay on the bodice echoed the dress worn by Grace Kelly when she married the Prince of Monaco in 1956.
The lace for the dress was made in Caudry, France, by the company Sophie Hallette. The dress itself was designed and constructed in the UK by Sarah Burton and the Alexander McQueen team.
It is unclear who paid for the dress, but it is likely that it was paid for by the royal family, as is traditional for royal weddings.
