AND THE WEDDING DRESS GOES TOÉ?
OUR MONEY’S ON Erdem Moralioglu. The half-turkish, half-english Londonbased designer who was born and raised in Montreal would seem the most natural fit given Meghan’s allegiance to Canadian designers and the fact she’s already been photographed in one of his dresses. Crucially, Erdem’s fashion language centres on exquisitely crafted gowns, full of romance, history and noble elegance, through which a story is always told. And surely the story behind his latest collection can’t have been pure coincidence? Erdem based his entire collection on – the Queen! Specifically, a little-known story about her connection to Black-american culture. Having been granted access to the archives at Windsor Castle ( plot thickens) and with the help of Caroline de Guitaut, senior curator of decorative arts at the Royal Collection, Erdem discovered a photo from 1958 of the Queen meeting Duke Ellington at a Royal Command Performance. All of which fired Erdem’s imagination and yielded a collection that spanned jazz-era dresses that could have shimmied straight out of Harlem’s Cotton Club, to regal satin gowns with long white opera gloves and tiaras. So you can see why Erdem tops our charts for wedding dress designer. Then again, Meghan may not go down the traditional designer route at all. Her track record so far is as transmitter of under-the-radar brands, although it’s doubtful she’ll be going down the aisle in a mid-market, accessibly-priced frock. But this woman is far from predictable and she’s principled, which makes us wonder if she might use her wedding as a platform to teach the world a lesson about wastefulness and landfills and go… vintage? A Norman Hartnell gown from the Windsor Castle archives, perhaps? Hell no, this is no time to be a killjoy! After what has been the best and most positive news all year, we’re depending on you, Meghan, to keep our national spirits up. Yes, we want illusion, dreaminess, passionate romance and pure, unabashed fantasy, dammit. And for all that and more, your best bet’s Erdem.