PA photos Getty
There was lots of fabulous fashion on the BAFTAs red carpet last night – (Michelle Williams in sparkly Louis Vuitton and Emma Stone in Chanel couture, we’re talking about you) – but the best dressed prize was easily won by the Duchess of Cambridge.
In a dark floral off-the-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown she proved exactly why she’s a bona fide fashion princess.
The Duchess chose McQueen designer Sarah Burton to make her wedding gown, but the BAFTAs look was ready-to-wear, from the label’s Resort ’16 collection. The tiered skirt felt fresh and slightly whimsical, but also sexy – it fitted like a glove through the hips. The neckline suits Kate, who is rigorously slim with impeccably toned shoulders and a smooth décolletage. She gives good clavicle.
Studying the pictures, it’s impossible not to think of another royal about whom that could be said.
Prince William’s mother wore several off-she-shoulder looks which went down in fashion history – including the black Victor Edelstein gown she danced in at the White House with John Travolta in 1985.
In 1994 Diana wore off-the-shoulder to the Serpentine summer party shortly after Prince Charles had admitted his adultery on live TV. Black again, this dress was skin-tight, knee-bearing and worn with pointy stilettos. It was dubbed the “Revenge Dress”.
Fashion’s obsession with the woman who would have been Kate’s mother-in-law shows no sign of diminishing. At Kensington Palace the exhibition, Diana: Her Fashion Story is drawing crowds, just as elements of Diana’s signature ‘80s style are back in fashion: pie crust collars and pussy bows are everywhere from Gucci and Burberry to Topshop and Zara.
Diana will always fascinate, but her son’s wife is quite capable of making off-the-shoulder her own. Pussy bows too, if she felt like it. We’d like to see her in one of Gucci’s blouses.
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