page_title: Wedding dress of Catherine Middleton
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Wedding dress of Catherine Middleton / Design
caption_attribution_description: English: Replica of Kate Middleton's wedding dress in Belfast
context_page_description: English designer Sarah Burton, creative director of the luxury fashion house Alexander McQueen, designed the bridal gown worn by Catherine Middleton at her wedding to Prince William on 29 April 2011.
  The dress and its maker were not formally announced until the bride stepped from her car to enter Westminster Abbey just prior to the service. Noted for its design, symbolism, and expected influence on Western bridal gown trends, the dress was widely anticipated and generated much comment in the media. Replicas of the dress were produced and sold, and the original dress was on display at Buckingham Palace from 23 July 2011 until 3 October 2011 during the annual summer exhibition.
context_section_description: Official statements noted that Middleton wished to combine tradition and modernity, "with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen's work." She and Burton worked closely together in formulating the dress design.
  The British tabloid News of the World reported that to maintain secrecy, the embroiderers at the Royal School of Needlework were initially told that the dress was intended to be used in a television costume drama and that cost was no object. As a result, it had been widely reported that the dress cost £250,000, although a Clarence House spokesperson dismissed that claim.
  The ivory satin bodice was padded slightly at the hips and narrowed at the waist, and was inspired by the Victorian tradition of corsetry that is a particular Alexander McQueen hallmark. The bodice incorporated floral motifs cut from machine-made lace, which were then appliquéd on to silk net (tulle) by workers from the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace. On the back were 58 buttons of gazar and organza, which fasten by means of rouleau loops. The skirt, underskirt trim and bridal train (which measured 270 cm—110in) also incorporated lace appliquéd in a similar manner. The main body of the dress was made in ivory and white satin gazar, using UK fabrics which had been specially sourced by Sarah Burton, with a long, full skirt designed to echo an opening flower, with soft pleats which unfolded to the floor, forming a Victorian-style semi-bustle at the back, and finishing in a short train measuring just under three metres in length. To partially fulfill the 'something blue' portion of the British wedding tradition, a blue ribbon was sewn inside the dress. The design for the bodice of the dress featuring lace in the style of the 19th century was the 'something old'.
  The British press showed considerable interest in the lace used in the wedding dress, but their published reports are at variance with available documentation, and suggest that they were briefed with common incorrect or misleading information. The facts about the lace are as follows. The effect achieved by the design of the bodice is similar to that of the decorated nets that were popular in the late 19th century, typified by the Limerick and Carrickmacross laces of Ireland. For the latter, machine-made net is used as a basis on which floral and other designs are created by various hand-needlework techniques. The press release from the Royal School of Needlework states that the technique used in Catherine's wedding dress "was influenced by" traditional Carrickmacross lace technique. However, the technique itself was a completely different and modern device: floral motifs were cut out of lengths of lace produced on large 19th-century machines and stitched to machine net. Three companies are known to have produced lace for the dress: Sophie Hallette and Solstiss in France, and the Cluny Lace Company in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. The majority of the dress is made using the Solstiss lace, specifically the skirt and train. The styles of machine lace go by the names "English Cluny" and "Chantilly", but should not be confused with the older hand-made bobbin laces of the same names. The lace was not specially commissioned for the dress, but chosen from stock patterns (what was formerly known only as Sophie Hallette's "950264" is now known as "Kate's lace", however, this lace was only used for the bodice of the dress, the skirt and train are made of the Solstiss lace. Grace Kelly's wedding dress was also made from lace by Solstiss, a French company. All the companies involved are known to produce the highest quality of couture lace.) and hence the floral motifs available were those present in the patterns. Although roses and perhaps shamrocks may be discerned on the bodice, the many reports of daffodils and thistles needed to complete a British quartet seem to be embroidery of the truth rather than of the dress.
caption: A replica of the dress outside a shop in Belfast
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