Official Photo Release Update, Gown Designers, Prince William’s Interview & Older IDs (Tod’s and Tahari)

As is generally the case of late we have a few updates to share before diving into fashion news. We begin with word that the first official photos of Kate, William and Prince George are to be released on Monday. That is according to the Mail on Sunday:

The Duke and Duchess  of Cambridge are set to break another Royal tradition, this time by releasing candid photos of their son in place  of an official portrait.

The pictures, due to be revealed tomorrow, were taken by a member of the Middleton family at their Berkshire home.

Next, news that Kate and Prince George have made the journey back to Anglesey, joining Prince William in their rented farmhouse.  More on the pair’s return to Wales with Kate’s mother, Carole Middleton, from the Daily Mail:

…when Kate and the baby moved back to Anglesey at the start of this week to be with Prince William, who returned to duty as a rescue helicopter pilot ten days ago, Mrs Middleton was persuaded to go with them to help the Duchess and the baby settle in.

William was seen by locals out and about with Mrs Middleton while Kate remained at the isolated, whitewashed farmhouse.

Rebecca English reports reports that Mrs. Middleton has now returned home to Bucklebury. While Kate and William have chosen not to have a nanny, they do have some staff helping out. The housekeeper/cook they hired, Antonella Fresolone, is also in Anglesey.

We move now to an update for Kate’s calendar: she will be attending the Tusk Conservation Awards with Prince William on Thursday, September 12th.

The Tusk Trust

This is the first year for the Awards, the dinner will “recognize and celebrate outstanding achievement in the field of African conservation”.  Many know how important Tusk’s mission and work are to William, Harry, and Kate. The organization has raised more than $25 million for work on projects across Africa, William became the charity’s Royal Patron in 2005 and Prince Harry is also a patron.

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Our next tidbit also involves Prince William, he has given his first television interviews since Prince George was born. A tip of the tiara goes to our pal Max Foster of CNN, he landed the first sit-down with the new dad.

New Day Blog/CNN

More on the upcoming program from CNN:

The future king of Britain sat down with CNN’s Max Foster to talk about baby George, his wife Catherine, and what it’s like to be a new father.

In the…special William tells CNN how his love of Africa and its endangered species were instilled in him by his father, Prince Charles, and late mother Princess Diana.

The interview is part of a one-hour special, “Prince William’s Passion: New Father, New Hope,” which will premiere on CNN and CNN International on Sunday, September 15 at 10:00 p.m. ET.

In the USA a portion of the interview will air Monday morning (the 19th) during the network’s New Day program. Some CNN releases say 8am, others say 8:30am. If I had to predict which half-hour will have the interview, I would expect to see it in between 8:30 – 9am.

CNN

Max speaks about his efforts to land an interview with Prince William in a blog post:

Big royal interviews don’t happen overnight and if you’re lucky, they come through and at just the right time. For a long while, I have wanted to speak to Prince William about the cause closest to his heart, African conservation, and I’ve been in contact with his office for more than two years about making it happen.

The other broadcaster scoring an interview with the Prince is ITV, that network is also doing a documentary that will air in September.

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We got to thinking about who the Duchess might wear for her first formal engagement since the arrival of Prince George. She has stayed with a fairly steady group of designers for party frocks over the years; with Issa no longer an option (more here on why not) the list of previous notable names is even shorter.

The Duchess has always looked elegant for black tie occasions, below we take a look at those designers she has previously chosen for formal appearances. On the far left the Duchess wears Temperley’s Amoret gown to a Saint Andrews fundraiser, she is in Jenny Packham for both the ARK Gala in 2011, as well as the pre-Olympic Greatest Team Rises dinner held in May of 2012.

All Photos by SplashNews.com

Another likely designer: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Below we see Kate wearing McQueen at three different functions: a 2012 Malaysian State Dinner, in black velvet for the Sun Military Awards in December of 2011, and the lilac gown seen at the Hollywood BAFTA dinner. (The Duchess also wore a McQueen frock for the BBC Sports Awards last December.) This is very much a go-to designer for Kate when it comes to creating formal dresses.

Splash News

Others that quickly come to mind: Amanda Wakeley, designer of the aqua frock worn to an In Kind Direct reception October 2011; Beulah London, Kate wore the brand’s ‘Sarai’ dress for a 100 Women in Hedge Funds dinner; and Roland Mouret, he designed the ‘Lombard’ evening gown Kate wore to a Claridge’s dinner with William.

SplashNews.com

Kate could stick with one of these designers, or experiment with someone new. Either way, it will be a delight to see her in formal attire.

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Our final updates examine older styles worn by Kate that we hadn’t yet shared in this space. Below we see Kate on her way to work back in January of 2007.

SplashNews.com/My Small Obsessions

The future Duchess wore a blazer from Zara atop a cable knit sweater and what many believe are Levi’s. She carried an Explorer Holdall in heavy sailcloth canvas by Tusting, a longtime maker of heritage leather goods in the UK.

Tusting Explorer

She also has her Tod’s Lady D bag in black leather with white contrast stitching, double handles, and metal feet.

eBay/Splash News

Our other IDs are pieces seen on Kate in 2009.

Splash News/eBay via My Small Obsessions

In June of 2009 Kate was at Cirencester Park Polo Club to watch William and Harry play a match. She wore another piece by Zara, a leather jacket with multiple seams and pockets, exposed zippers, an elasticized waistband and elasticized stand collar. Underneath the jacket, she was in a piece by Elie Tahari, a lightweight yellow top with a lacy bodice and lace-trimmed scoop neck. Our thanks to Hannah G., as well as My Small Obsessions on Facebook and eBay seller Copy Kate for some of the information and/or images shown on these older styles.

LINKAGE:

• Learn more about the Tusk Trust here, read profiles of the five finalists for the Tusk Conservation Award by clicking here
• Read more on the CNN special with Prince William by clicking here