THE PRINCESS OF WALES
One of the most prolific royal outfit repeaters, Kate has worn some of her best-loved garments several times, delivering a powerful message to style watchers that even princesses can recycle a look.
At the Bafta Film Awards in 2023, she graced the red carpet in an upcycled white one-shouldered Alexander McQueen gown that she had worn to the same event in 2019.
“Altering that beautiful McQueen gown into a new shape after she had worn it to the same occasion previously – something the rest of us would perhaps never dream of doing – was sheer genius, with her opera gloves simply emphasising the fact,” royal style expert Miranda Holder told hello!. “It was strategic dressing at its best.”
It’s not just her own wardrobe that she recycles, either. Kate looked like a green goddess when she propelled rental fashion into the spotlight by hiring an emerald Solace London dress from Hurr to attend her husband the Prince’s Earthshot Prize ceremony in 2022.
Eshita Kabra-Davies, founder of the clothes rental app By Rotation, told us: “It’s a positive step in the right direction to have royals embrace the rental revolution, especially because they have significant shopping power among the non-Gen Z generations.”
She added: “The green Falconetti dress from The Vampire’s Wife that the Princess of Wales wore for her first official joint portrait with Prince William has been rented more than 25 times via By Rotation and continues to be one of our most popular rentals.”
‘Altering her gown was sheer genius — strategic dressing at its best’