Has Meghan said yes to the dress?
Betting is suspended on who will design the royal wedding gown, so is Ralph & Russo about to be crowned the winner, asks Charlie Gowans-eglinton
With less than two months to go until Meghan Markle marries Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on May 19, speculation over the bride’s choices for her big day has reached fever pitch.
Earlier this week, we discovered the happy couple have chosen hipster baker Claire Ptak to make them a lemon and elderflower wedding cake. Then, bookmakers suspended betting on the designer of her wedding dress when British couture company Ralph & Russo pulled ahead to become 1/3 favourites. “It looks as though Meghan’s made her mind up as far as her dress is concerned, so we’ve decided to pull the plug for the time being,” a spokesman for Ladbrokes said on Tuesday.
The label, helmed by Australians Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo (a couple in real life) have shot to prominence after a string of celebrity endorsements. In 2014, Angelina Jolie wore the label to Buckingham Palace to receive an honorary damehood, in 2016 Gwyneth Paltrow to the Oscars. Add to that list of fans Beyoncé, Rihanna and, finally, Meghan Markle herself, who chose a £56,000 embellished couture gown for the official photos taken to mark her engagement to Prince Harry. Having won a spot on the official schedule at Paris’ bi-annual couture week in 2014 – the first British company to do so in a century – the pair launched a ready-to-wear line last year. Their atelier is now the biggest in the world – a fitting starting point for what will be the most photographed, referenced and imitated dress of the year.
“Meghan gave them an enormous seal of approval in choosing them for her engagement shoot,” says Jade Beer, editor of Brides, “and in doing so made a very clear statement that her fashion choices are going to be more fabulous than we might otherwise have expected.” While the Duchess of Cambridge errs on the side of understated elegance, Meghan brings a little more Hollywood glamour. In the less formal setting of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, as opposed to Westminster Abbey, Markle will certainly have more freedom than her future sister-in-law to make a bold fashion statement. “Designers of R&R’S pedigree, who show at Paris Haute Couture week, would undoubtedly deliver something that would rise to the occasion – but I also think they are perfectly placed to create something a little surprising and different, something that makes all the required nods to tradition and befitting of a royal wedding in a historical Royal chapel – but modern and elegant too,” says Beer. While some question whether Meghan would revisit a designer that she’s already worn in such a high-profile context, it is certainly a sign that she has identified the label as one she’d like to patronise in the long term. At the time of Catherine Middleton’s wedding, Alexander Mcqueen was a left-field choice, and a particularly fashion forward one. Since then, the Duchess has used the London-based label to help realise and refine her personal style, reportedly buying a capsule wardrobe each season. If Markle were to choose Ralph & Russo, she may be confirming a relationship that will define her style in her new position.
Of course, even with Ralph & Russo named the favourite, there are still other potentials in the running, who may intentionally be avoiding the spotlight to protect Markle’s secret. Before betting was suspended, London-based designer Erdem was at 3/1. Worn both by Markle and the Duchess of Cambridge in the past, the Canadian and Turkish fashion designer’s collections are often rife with royal references, from an homage to Queen Elizabeth’s Fifties wardrobe for SS18 to his latest AW18 collection, for which Adele Astaire (sister of Fred) was the inspiration. Referencing an American starlet who gave up showbusiness to marry into the British aristocracy may suggest that Erdem hasn’t been given the commission – or it could be a spectacular bluff.
Roland Mouret (4/1) and Victoria Beckham (6/1) could appeal to Meghan’s preference for modern, sleek silhouettes. Of course, there are always the chance that Markle may choose this moment to shine a spotlight on a smaller designer, like friend Misha Nonoo, who she’s worn to public engagements in the past.
Any label that she’s photographed wearing quickly benefits from the “Markle Sparkle” and becomes a household name; this week, Mother denim revealed a 400-strong waiting list for the reissue of a style of jeans worn by Meghan, and in the past she’s caused huge surges in sales for handbag brand Strathberry and sunglasses company Finlay & Co, who recorded sales of £20,000 in the 24hours after Meghan wore a pair.
“Whoever designs the dress will need to bear in mind that it is likely to be seen by the Queen in advance of the wedding, as she did with Autumn Kelly’s Sassi Holford wedding dress,” says Beer, “and it will need to photograph well. A royal wedding dress is viewed from a distance and so the level of detail needs to be discernible from about two metres or it will end up looking lost and too plain on the day.”
If the ornately embellished Ralph & Russo couture gown that Meghan chose for her engagement photos is anything to go by, that won’t be a problem.