Fashion’s right royal boost from a princess of simple style

Since the mid 1990s, there has only been one Kate of note on the international catwalks.

Emerging first as the poster girl for the superwaifs, when the 37-year-old Ms Moss stepped out for Louis Vuitton at last year’s Paris Fashion Week, her look offset with a lit cigarette, she proved she’d not lost her touch for attracting the attention of the world’s Press.

However, with London Fashion Week now taking over the capital, the supermodel’s influence is in danger of being overshadowed by another Kate. Enter the clean-living, glossy-haired and distinctly conservative dressing Duchess of Cambridge.

The now infamous dress she wore at a St Andrew’s student fashion show aside, Kate Middleton doesn’t do racy. She doesn’t even come close. Yet despite her knee-length elegance, the latest member of the Royal family is increasingly being courted by designers.

It’s not hard to see why high street retailers are keen to curry favour with the Duchess. When Kate wore a £175 nude Shola dress from Reiss to meet the Obamas at Buckingham Palace, the company’s online store crashed under the weight of orders.

Similarly, the £159 cream silk dress, the 29-year-old wore for her official engagement photograph sold at a rate of one per minute and when at the end of last year, Reiss announced its annual profits had almost doubled many industry experts cited the Kate effect as the reason, at least in part, for the surge.

Such is the Duchess of Cambridge’s power, she may soon be credited with bringing back one fashion company from the dead. Earlier this month when Kate wore a 1950s grey coat dress for her first solo public engagement at the National Portrait Gallery those hoping to get their hands on the Jesire design were disappointed to find the company had ceased trading in the UK last summer.

However, the former chief of the Hong Kong label, which once sold in John Lewis, said following unprecedented amount of interest in the now defunct line he was in talks with the owners about a possible re-emergence of the brand.

“Kate Middleton is now widely regarded as a trendsetter, her fashion choices reflect a time and place in fashion history that is pivotal,” say those behind the website What Kate Wore, one of a growing number of blogs chronicling every minor shift in the Duchess’ hemline. “It is also a critical point in cultural terms, and the way she is copied and imitated also mirrors societal attitudes and standards that are mercurial, changing in a world where Miss Middleton’s sartorial selections are flashed across the internet almost instantaneously. There is also an enormous economic impact that cannot be overlooked, the fashion industry employs millions of people, generating billions of dollars at a time of financial stress around the globe.”

Earlier this month, the Duchess of Cambridge became the first person to top the list of the most powerful buzzwords in fashion two years running. The list compiled from an analysis of words mentioned on the internet and from thousands of print publications also featured braids, novelty denim and, thanks to a forthcoming big screen adaptation, The Great Gatsby, but it was Kate Middleton who reigned supreme. It’s undoubtedly good news for the Royals, but does fashion really need a sober dressing princess as its figurehead?

“The Duchess of Cambridge, is doing wonders for the British fashion industry. She has a great figure and a modern chic classic style,” says Angela Marshall, image consultant and founder of Appearance Management. “When I work with people I think it is important to recognise their wardrobe personality, so she will not appeal to everyone.

“However, I think she will appeal to the majority as her style is simple and elegant, but perhaps rather safe and boring to the more romantic, creative and too formal for the casual and sporty types. With the 1950s styles very in fashion I am hoping that her image will encourage more women to dress well and stylish and look in the mirror when they go out each day.

“Off duty she also looks good as she has fantastic personal grooming, no doubt is regularly at the hairdressers. Another boost to British hairdressing. She is very much following in the same vein as Jackie O and Princess Diana when it comes to style.

“There is a lot of pressure on her, as so many brands will be keen to have her wear their clothes, so I hope she has great support from a good team of people and stays reflecting who she is as she develops and so will her style.”