Duchess surprises dress designer with top award
THE Birmingham-born designer who made Meghan Markle’s stunning wedding dress has been presented with a top award – by the Duchess of Sussex herself.
Meghan surprised guests at the British Fashion Awards when she made an unexpected appearance to honour her wedding dress designer, Clare Waight Keller.
After praising the fashion industry in her “new home of the UK,” she named Keller, Givenchy’s artistic director, as British Womenswear Designer of the Year.
Actress Rosamund Pike was initially scheduled to present the award. But after reading out the finalists, she welcomed a “special guest” to join her.
Meghan then appeared in a black one-shoulder Givenchy dress to rapturous applause from the star-studded London audience.
She described Waight Keller as a “British designer leading on the global stage with vision and creativity, but also with incredible kindness”.
Taking to the stage, a visibly shocked Waight Keller described the surprise as “an incredibly special moment.”
“This woman is so amazing, and I got to know Meghan on such a personal level,” she said in her acceptance speech.
“And to have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life, is something that is just the most unbelievable honour and I can’t thank you enough. It was just the most beautiful moment.”
Waight Keller previously worked at Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren before she joined Givenchy in 2017 as artistic director of haute couture.
But it all began for her in Birmingham, where she was born and raised before heading off to become one of the most senior faces in fashion.
The designer of Markle’s dress was one of the wedding’s most closelyguarded secrets, sparking months of speculation.
Waight Keller was a surprise choice – her name was not among the many designers slated to be possible contenders for what many call the dress commission of the year.
It was the dress the whole world was waiting to see. Meghan wanted the creation to have an “elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring, and relaxed demeanor.”
The dress featured nothing by way of lace or embroidery, carrying a
...to have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life, is something that is just the most unbelievable honour
classic boat neckline, three-quarter length sleeves and an A-line skirt with a train measuring about 70 inches from the waist.
Meghan complemented it with a tiara, an embroidered cathedral length veil, a bracelet and a small diamond stud earrings.
The veil carried floral references to all 53 countries in the Commonwealth, the group of countries that roughly corresponds to the former British Empire and is headed by her new grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II.
Clare Waight Keller