Any fashionista knows that when you find something that works for you, you stick to it. And it’s a fashion rule that Catherine, Princess of Wales has mastered over the years.
Her love affair with the late Alexander McQueen’s designs began more than a decade ago, when she chose the fashion house to design her iconic headline-making wedding gown.
Since then, it seems not a week goes by where the duchess doesn’t step out in a signature McQueen piece.
The legendary British house has dressed Kate for weddings, BAFTA red carpets, gala dinners, international tours, royal mourning and everything in between.
We’ve compiled our favourite Alexander McQueen looks that Kate has rocked over the years.
The Princess of Wales chose an Alexander McQueen dress to farewell the Queen at the late monarch’s state funeral in September 2022. It was a new frock for the royal, but she previously wore the same style in white during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
This white suit was another recycled McQueen number! Catherine wore it to the 2022 Commonwealth Games and was previously spotted in it during her and William’s 2022 tour of the Caribbean.
It was a very special touch when the Princess of Wales chose this white McQueen gown for her appearance on Buckingham Palace’s balcony for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
This powder blue McQueen coat dress perfectly captured Catherine’s summer style as she stepped out for The Order of The Garter service at Windsor Castle in June 2022.
The Princess has also honoured Australian history in McQueen, rewearing this stunning white coat dress for the ANZAC Day service at Westminster Abbey in April 2022.
She previously wore the dress to the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in 2018 and to the christening of her daughter Princess Charlotte in 2015.
Three new portraits were released for Kate’s 40th birthday in January 2022 and she chose to wear three dresses from Alexander McQueen for the now-iconic images. Captured by Italian photographer Paolo Roversi and shared by the royal family, the photos show Catherine looking more regal than ever before.
The second portrait featured a black and white shot of Catherine, this time a close up of her smiling at the camera.
Another black and white picture shared by Kensington Palace features the royal dressed in a stunning Alexander McQueen gown, accessorised with pearl earrings and her engagement ring on display.
On Remembrance Day 2021, Catherine opted for a military-style Alexander McQueen coat which featured a white collar, silver buttons and red epaulettes. The outfit might have looked familiar to royal watchers, as the princess previously donned to the structured jacket for the Remembrance Day ceremony back in 2018.
In October 2021 Catherine rewore this stunning lilac McQueen gown to attend the Earthshot Prize Awards with husband Prince William. The royals followed a strict style rule on the night, which required attendees to rewear clothes they already owned in a bid to push for more sustainable fashion practices.
Catherine stunned in the same billowing lavender gown at the 2011 BAFTA awards, one of her first major outings after her wedding.
Catherine has been known to rewear her McQueen pieces time and again, such as this white and gold gown she donned for the EE British Academy Film Awards 2020 at Royal Albert Hall.
She previously wore the custom white and gold gown during a visit to Malaysia as part of the Diamond Jubilee Tour in 2012.
Catherine can also do casual in McQueen, as proved by this chic red coat she wore on a visit to Cardiff in 2020.
She debuted the dark red, double-breasted coat in October that year as she and William attended the launch of her “Hold Still” community photography project.
One of Catherine’s most glamourous McQueen moments to date was in November 2019, when the princess wore a black lace floor-length gown to the annual Royal Variety Performance.
Catherine is known to rewear high-end labels, and she’s rocked this powder blue McQueen coat three times now. Pictured here at the naming ceremony for the RSS Sir David Attenborough in September 2019, she debuted the stylish belted coat in 2014 and rewore it again two years later.
When it comes to weddings, Alexander McQueen seems to be a no-brainer for Catherine. She oozed class in this magenta dress and matching fascinator to her cousin-in-law, Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018.
The fashion house never fails to make Catherine’s pregnancies look effortlessly glamorous. The princess stepped out in this flowy, pale pink gown for dinner at the Royal Palace in Norway in February 2018, while she was seven months pregnant with Prince Louis.
Catherine initially donned this black floral floor-length gown to the 2017 BATFA awards, before repurposing it for the 2019 National Portrait Gallery Gala. She had the dress’s neckline altered between the two events.
Here she is in the very same gown in 2019, after she had the sleeves modified from an off-the-shoulder style to a cap sleeve.
Catherine wowed royal watchers when she ditched her usual midi-length dresses for this McQueen mini during a trip to Canada. She wore the red and white embroidered number to an event for the Canadian Coast Guard and Vancouver First Responders in September 2016.
After Catherine’s sister Pippa wore McQueen to her 2012 wedding to William, it was only fitting that the princess donned the same brand for Pippa’s nuptials. She chose this blush pink midi dress which featured a flattering cinched-in waist and balloon sleeves.
April 29, 2011: The day that Catherine’s love affair with Alexander McQueen truly began. Sarah Burton designed the princess’ iconic white and ivory wedding gown for the British fashion house.
All work was completed in a locked room at the Alexander McQueen headquarters in Clerkenwell, with seamstresses being smuggled in each night under cover of darkness to avoid arousing suspicion amongst regular staff.
Once the lace was delivered, Sarah set her seamstresses to work on different sections of the gown. They were forbidden to talk to each other so no one but Sarah and Catherine knew the full design.
Once the delicate hand-sewing was complete, the sections of the gown were sent to Buckingham Palace, where Sarah stitched them together in a special locked work room just days before the big day.
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