Meghan Markle may be one of the world’s most recognizable royals, but she’s never one to forget where she comes from. And at her 2018 wedding she made that very clear by insisting that an American design house was represented.
In the October issue of Tatler, Oscar de la Renta creative directors Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia revealed how important it was to the Duchess of Sussex to have her mother, Doria Ragland, wear something from a U.S. fashion house.
“She called me directly,” Garcia said. “I had no idea she was able to do that or had my number, and gave me a 15 minute speech about why it was important to her.”
He continued, “I assumed it was her own wedding dress but at the end she said, ‘And would you be interested about making this dream come true for my mother?’” How could you say no to that?
The duo ended up creating a pistachio-hued dress and coat with white floral embroidery details along the skirt. To top it off in a truly British manner, she wore a matching fascinator.
Noting how “lovely” Ragland was to work with, Kim said that she brought snacks to every appointment and was “very hands-on” during the whole process.
The bride herself wore a boatneck gown by the French design house Givenchy for the ceremony, changing into a halter dress from British designer Stella McCartney.
The royal has always used fashion as a subtle and beautiful way to make a statement. During the Australia royal tour in October 2018, she showed her activist side donning many eco-friendly and sustainable clothing brands such as Reformation and Outland Denim.
Keen on how important style can be to a person’s public persona, the former Suits actress threw a “Sayonara Zara” party when she started investing in designer clothing — a mentality that explains her current charity clothing line with Smart Works, which helps women entering the workforce dress and prepare for job interviews.
