HEIR TO THE GOWN! I
Beatrice’s wedding dress, passed down from her grandmother, is the most beautiful royal frock of them all. LISA BRADY speaks to others who also transformed their loved ones’ gowns...
REMEMBER how we bickered over whether Kate’s Alexander McQueen was a marital marvel or Meghan’s Givenchy gown was godly?
Last week, there was no such debate. We were all in agreement — on her very private wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Beatrice was the fairest of them all.
With little fuss or fanfare, she became an unlikely style icon by opting for a beautiful vintage gown borrowed from her grandmother. The Queen first wore the magnificent Norman Hartnell creation during the 1966 State Opening of Parliament, before donning it several more times for important occasions in the 1960s.
It’s not difficult to see why the Queen loved it so. Decades unworn has done little to diminish the beauty of the fit and flare masterpiece, constructed from Peau De Sole taffeta in shimmering shades of ivory, trimmed with Duchess satin and encrusted with diamantes.
Beatrice put her own spin on things of course, opting for the addition of organza sleeves. On her head rested the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, which the Queen wore the day she married Prince Philip in 1947.
Beatrice, who has the world’s designers at her beck and call, shunned high-profile fashion houses for her gran’s gown in the ultimate display of sentimentality, respect and love. It is testament to the close bond they obviously have for one another, if the Queen’s smile in the few released bridal pictures are anything to go by.
Beatrice is not alone in her bridal nod to nostalgia. Many brides forego the huge mass market of wedding gowns on offer in favour of a long-harboured childhood dream — to wear a dress that means more than just material on the biggest day of their lives.
‘It’s a way of getting a bespoke dress without spending a lot of money. So many brides are ordering online these days and you don’t know what you are going to get,’ says Caroline Wallace, managing director of the Zipyard franchises in Ireland, whose stores recreated all the dresses in this feature.
‘You can actually create a really beautiful bespoke gown that can be passed through generations.’