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Kate Middleton's wedding dress: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen
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Kate Middleton, who managed to keep the information under wraps until her Friday (April 29) emergence at Westminster Abbey, is wearing a gown by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.Sister Pippa, wearing a dress by Nicki Macfarlane, holds Kate's train:
From Clarence House:"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.
"Hand-cut English lace and French Chantilly lace has been used throughout the bodice and skirt, and has been used for the underskirt trim. With laces coming from different sources, much care was taken to ensure that each flower was the same colour. The whole process was overseen and put together by hand by Ms Burton and her team.
"The dress is made with ivory and white satin gazar. The skirt echoes an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats. The train measures two metres 70 centimetres. The ivory satin bodice, which is narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, draws on the Victorian tradition of corsetry and is a hallmark of Alexander McQueen's designs. The back is finished with 58 gazar and organza covered buttons fastened by Rouleau loops. The underskirt is made of silk tulle trimmed with Cluny lace."
Middleton crowned off a loose hairstyle with a veil and the Queen's halo tiara, loaned especially for the day, made in 1936.
Why Burton/McQueen?
"Miss Middleton chose British brand Alexander McQueen for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterises Alexander McQueen's work."
McQueen took his own life in February 2010. A retrospective of the designer's work will launch Monday (May 2) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Gala.
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Photo/Video credit: Getty Images
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Such a perfect dress! Perfect!
simple but extravagant!
Awesum pics.thanks for sharing such a wonderfull pics.