British fashion takes center stage at royal wedding
(CBS) Last Friday's royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was a huge win for British fashion.
The grand event placed a bevy of guests and British designers firmly under the international spotlight; from Middleton's wedding dress designer, Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, to sisters Princess Beatrice and Eugenie, who both raised a few eyebrows with their choice outfits.
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Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Catherine Walker, as seen on Middleton's mom Carole, and Angela Kelly, who dressed Queen Elizabeth II in a pale-yellow ensemble, were among the British labels that made appearances.
Middleton's maid of honor Pippa, who also wore a Burton design for the wedding ceremony, slipped into another creation from a British designer for the evening reception, an emerald evening gown by designer Alice Temperley, who heads the Temperley London fashion house.
London-based milliner Philip Treacy made many of the fancy headgear for the VIP guests, a total of 36 hats, according to the Associated Press, including Prince Charles' wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, Victoria Beckham, Beatrice and Eugenie.
A few British labels that had zero involvement in the wedding also experienced a fair share in the spotlight.
Before it was known that Burton was commissioned as the royal wedding dressmaker, a handful of designers made headlines for being rumored of winning the royal assignment.
Designer Bruce Oldfield, who often dressed Princess Diana, was considered atop contender to design Middleton's much-anticipated gown. Rumors first circulated in January when Middleton's sister Pippa and mother Carole were spotted at Oldfield's London boutique.
Another Diana favorite, self-taught designerAmanda Wakeley, from Chester, central England, also had a place in the wedding dress rumor mill.
Speculation first arose when Middleton stepped out wearing a midnight blue, vintage silk mikado suit by Wakeley during an official engagement last month with Prince William in Darwen, England.
Other British designers who were rumored to be making Middleton's wedding gown include Phillipa Lepley, a luxury bridal fashion designer based in London's Chelsea neighborhood, and Jenny Packham, a celebrity favorite who has garnered several distinctions over her fashion career including the British Bridal Designer of the Year 2008.