Sarah Burton speaks on working with Kate!

Sarah Burton initially described working with Kate Middleton on her wedding dress as 'The experience of a lifetime' She not only designed her beautiful wedding gown but her evening dress and Pippa's infamous white dress too. Speaking about Kate she described her as 'One of the most lovely women she has ever met and very low maintenance'  Creating the dress was a 50/50 effort between her and Kate.  Burton adored the secrecy of it but felt she ruined the surprise when she was pictured running into the goring hotel wearing a fur coat from her last season. The dress which has inspired million of imitations around the world since the big day last Friday was only worn by Kate for a few hours yet will be her most famous creation as chief designer at McQueen.  After months of preparation and no doubt immense pressure she is looking forward to a nice vacation. Having just announced plans to visit California after their Canada visit, It will be fascinating to see if Kate remains a fan of the high street or collaborates again with a designer like Sarah Burton.  Audrey Hepburn has a stellar relationship with Givenchy, It would be fascinating to see Kate continue hers with the house of McQueen, proving they compliment her style so well at the wedding.

** The post-wedding dress - 29 April 2011 - Buckingham Palace**

After a brief siesta Kate returned to Buckingham Palace for the evening reception dressed in yet another Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen dress.

The strapless dress was made from ivory satin with what was reported to be a diamante belt detail around her waist. The angora cardigan perfectly complimented the stunning evening dress.

**The Wedding dress - 29 April 2011 - Westminster Abbey**

There are no words, which can justly describe Kates wedding dress it was truly fit for a Princes. Classic, elegant, sophisticated and utterly exquisite. As the whole world now knows "that dress" was designed by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen with much input from the bride herself!

The dress had to be "big" to fill the epic space that is Westminster Abbey, it also had to be modest. The current trend for strapless dresses is just not appropriate for the wedding of the future head of the Church of England!

The lace work was genius in preserving her "modesty" but also came across as very modern with the high collar and plunging v-neck.

According to the Official Royal Wedding site :

"The lace appliqué for the bodice and skirt was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace.  The lace design was hand-engineered (appliquéd) using the Carrickmacross lace-making technique, which originated in Ireland in the 1820s.  Individual flowers have been hand-cut from lace and hand-engineered onto ivory silk tulle to create a unique and organic design, which incorporates the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock." 

Apparently the needleworkers had to wash their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads clean!

This is the dress that I suspect will redefine bridal fashion for the next decade!

The dress that will inspire a million copies!

As Kate Middleton entered the Abbey with her Father Mike, thousands of designers attempted to recreate the stunning Sarah Burton creation. Kate's dress was one of the best kept secrets but she was determined to surprise the world at 11.01 a.m. on April 29th and she did just that. She had a clear idea of what she wanted and was drawn to the understated elegance of Grace Kelly whose gowns went on display at the Victoria and Albert museum last April. Sarah Burton who designed the dress described working with Kate as 'The experience of a lifetime' Mary Rose McGrath was one of the first to finish her interpretation of the gown with a 9 ft train.  It is now on display in House of Fraser, Victoria's square, Belfast.  Her take on the gown made of french lace and ivory fabric was put together in less than 24 hours.  Designers described Kate's dress as 'a work of art' and doubted it could be emulated in such short time. Take a look for yourself Here

Royal Wedding

On Friday April 29th at 11 a.m. over two billion people watched with baited breath as Kate Middleton married her university sweetheart Prince William of Wales. She arrived at Westminster Abbey with her Father Mike in a stunning Sarah Burton gown with it's nine ft train, lace detail and classic detail it seems certain to become one of the iconic dresses of our time. After months of preparation the ceremony went perfectly. Kate's mother Carole and the Queen were seen looking quite emotional as she entered wearing a Tiara from the Queen with a veil, opting to do her own make up. William remarked as he saw her 'You look lovely, you look beautiful' As they kissed twice on the balcony, now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge their wedding day was without question, perfection!