Clare Waight Keller Talks Meghan Markle's Dress
Meghan Markle surprised us when she showed up to her royal wedding wearing Givenchy. After rumors pointed to Erdem, Alexander McQueen, and Ralph & Russo over the past few months, the bride ultimately turned to creative director Clare Waight Keller to create her simple, elegant gown.
Due to the intense speculation surrounding the details of Meghan's gown ahead of the May 19th ceremony, the Givenchy artistic director was forced to keep mum about her five-month-long dress design process. She didn't even tell her husband, American architect Philip Keller, she was working on it. In fact, he didn't find out until the morning of the wedding.
Clare Waight Keller on designing Meghan’s wedding dress: “She looked just incredible and it showed.” https://t.co/zhvnM1VAXT pic.twitter.com/9aDMVEnFHI
- Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) May 20, 2018
Markle approached Keller in January and already "had an idea of what she wanted," the designer told ITV the morning after the wedding. She and the now-Duchess of Sussex "worked very closely together" to create the design.
Sketches of The Duchess of Sussex’s #RoyalWedding dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller, have been released.
The Duchess and Ms. Waight Keller worked closely together on the design, epitomising a timeless minimal elegance referencing the codes of the iconic House of Givenchy. pic.twitter.com/A9ZFKVZmUz- Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 20, 2018
Keller, a Brit behind the French fashion house, aimed for a "modern, fresh" design. She wanted Meghan to "feel absolutely incredible in the dress and also I wanted her to feel like it was absolutely right for the occasion."
The designer praised Markle as genuine, warm, radiant, and a "strong woman." "She knows what she wants and really it was an absolute joy working with her," she said, per Hello!'s royal reporter Emily Nash.
Dress designer Clare Waight-Keller on Meghan: “She is just exactly what you see on TV. She is just so genuine and warm and radiant. She is just glowing. And she’s a strong woman. She knows what she wants and really it was an absolute joy working with her.” #royalwedding
- Emily Nash (@emynash) May 20, 2018
The final result was a bateaux neckline gown with three-quarter sleeves, a sculpted waist, and a soft, round train supported by a triple-silk organza underskirt. The number was made by a small team of ateliers in Paris, using an "exclusive double bonded silk cady" fabric from Europe, the Kensington Palace revealed yesterday.
Prince Harry was also personally a fan of the look. He even approached her and personally thanked her for creating the dress, Keller recalled. "He came straight up to me and he said, ‘Oh my God, thank you, she looks absolutely stunning,'" she said.
Meghan's dress designer Clare Waight Keller said about Harry: “He came straight up to me and he said ‘oh my God, thank you, she looks absolutely stunning’." #royalwedding
- Victoria Murphy (@QueenVicMirror) May 20, 2018
In addition to creating the dress, Keller designed a trailing veil that included a flower from each of the 53 countries in the commonwealth embroidered at the hem.
"A lot of the work she's probably going to do in the future will be connection to the Commonwealth, and so that was something I really thought could be quite compelling," she added to ITV. Meghan loved the idea.
As the first female artistic director of Givenchy, Keller felt her story might've resonated with Markle, a vocal feminist and supporter of women's rights. "That was maybe part of her story," she said.
Clare W-K on Meghan: “I think she really admired the fact that I was a woman designer and the many companies I have worked for, British companies and international companies and the fact that I am a working mother played into it as well, so that was maybe part of her story.”
- Emily Nash (@emynash) May 20, 2018
Ultimately, Keller felt "truly privileged" and "flattered" to take on the "enormous honor" of designing a royal wedding dress. "I'm so proud to have been part of it," she told ITV.
Stella McCartney, who designed Meghan's high-collar second wedding dress for the Frogmore House reception, also responded to dressing the famous bride.
"I am so proud and honored to have been chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to make her evening gown and represent British design,” McCartney told WWD. “It has truly been one of the most humbling moments of my career and I am so proud of all the team on this stunning sunny royal day.”
This post has been updated.
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