Meghan Markle gown for Saturday’s royal wedding was flat-out stunning. But the price tag for the dress wound up being incredibly high.
Markle’s wore a pure white silk wedding gown from Givenchy. It had a 16-foot-long train and a cathedral-length veil. The dress had sensible long sleeves and a boat-neckline in deference to the rules of etiquette for royal dress. According to a report by the Daily Mail, it was designed by Clare Waight Keller.
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The dress on everyone’s mind this weekend cost a staggering 200,000 Great British Pounds, or $269,420.20. That includes ยฃ78,000 for custom-made fabric and ยฃ4,000 for fittings. Markle was reportedly willing to shell out for the dress because she is a big fan of Keller.
The 48-year-old designer hails from Birmingham. She is the first ever female Artistic Director at Givenchy. Keller reportedly agreed to design Markle’s dress shortly after they met at the beginning of the year. The two of them worked closely together on the project. Keller had to research fabric mills all across Europe in order to create a double bonded silk cady specifically for the occasion.
“It has been an immensely rewarding experience to get to know Meghan on a personal level, one I will forever carry with me,” Keller said in a statement. “The House of Givenchy joins me in wishing her and Prince Harry every wish of happiness in their future.”
The gown certainly achieved its purpose on Saturday, pushing the emotional Prince Harry to tears and even causing him to whisper compliments to his bride during the ceremony.
“You look amazing,” he said. “I’m so lucky.”
Still, the dress wasn’t unanimously popular. Allison Langdon, a reporter for 60 Minutes, and Channel Nine, was one of the many journalists covering the royal wedding proceedings on Saturday morning. As Markle arrived at St. George’s Chapel and her dress was on display for the first time, Langdon noted that it was similar to the one worn by Princess Mary of Denmark at her own wedding.
“I think it was probably Meghan’s version of Hollywood meets the history of the British family,” said Langon’s co-host Kerri Elstub. “Ali, it was your comment when watching it that the dress seemed familiar.”
“It was Princess Mary,” Langdon said confidently. “My first thought was that we had seen the dress before. I don’t think she’ll be setting wedding trends, because I think she’s copied. It wasn’t an Australian designer in the end, but I think she copied our very own princess, Princess Mary.”
Princess Mary’s wedding was held back in 2004. She has been married to Prince Frederik ever since. Langdon pointed out that Princess Mary also wore a long-sleeve gown with a boat-neckline. She went even further, questioning the color of Markle’s dress.
“I think she did copy Princess Mary. It looked stunning on her but she went with pure white,” she said. “A lot of people thought she might go with an ivory number since this was not her first wedding.”
Langdon’s criticism were summarily dismissed on social media.
