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Kate Calendar Updates, Alexander McQueen & Roksanda Ilincic Resort Collections, More

We are back following a catastrophic system failure technical hiccup (ahem) here at Planet Kate, things are back up and running ever-so-smoothly.

Next week is a busy one for Kate and William. Below, a cursory look at the upcoming schedule:

  • Tuesday, July 1: Kate visits Blessed Sacrament School in Islington. More from Action on Addiction: “Along with Place2Be, we are delighted our Patron, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge, will be visiting The Blessed Sacrament School in Islington on Tuesday 1st July to see the progress of M-PACT Plus, a school based project to address addiction in families, which Her Royal Highness launched with John Bishop in Manchester in 2013.” Below we see the Duchess and Mr. Bishop in photos from our post last year on the launch of the M-Pact Plus program.

Splash News

  • Saturday, July 5: Prince William, Prince Harry & the Duchess are at Harewood House, near Leeds in Yorkshire, to launch the Tour de France. According to a story in BikeBiz.com “The Royals will meet the riders as they line up at the steps of Harewood House for the Ceremonial Start, and will officially get the race underway.”

It is the time of year when we see designs from the Resort 2015 (or Pre-spring 2015) collections. In almost all instances the images are released via the fashion house, with a very few designers, like Chanel, staging formal presentations. We begin our overview with a look at designs from Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

Both leather and vinyl are part of the season’s collection.

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

Notable in the collection: the splashes of exuberant color. While not unheard of, such lush, saturated jewel tones are not the norm at Alexander McQueen.

Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen

As noted on the WKW Facebook page, it isn’t difficult to envision the Duchess in certain pieces, while others are clearly not styles we’ll expect to see her sporting.

As many are no doubt aware it is the sale season for spring merchandise, as retailers make space for pre-fall collections. That means pieces we have seen on the Duchess, or used to create a bespoke piece, are on sale. Below the “New Math” graphic we used to show elements of the custom coat dress worn to the Blenheim War Memorial in New Zealand. Below left, the Utility Peplum Coat Dress is discounted by 60% (originally $3875, now $1549), the Utility Coat Dress is also marked down 60%, from $3995 to $1599.

New Fashion Math

New Fashion Math

For those not up for quite this level of investment dressing there are items at all price points in the McQueen ‘Sale’ section.

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There are several news tidbits regarding another Kate favorite, Roksanda Ilincic.  The label’s new flagship store has opened in Mayfair.

Roksanda Ilincic

Roksanda Ilincic

The designer is also re-branding herself using simply her first name. For a solid story with an overview of Ms. Ilincic’s growth and success, this Metro UK piece is a good read.

We move to an overview of styles from the Roksanda Resort 2015 collection.

Roksanda

Roksanda

Ms. Ilincic referenced the collection as being a celebration of color, evident throughout the varying pieces, including the colorblocked styles.

It is in the dresses crafted of more unusual fibers, like the PVC threads in the cocktail styles shown below, where we see possibilities for the Duchess. The additional draped fabric on the two outside looks make them too fussy for Kate, but the four in the center aren’t out of the realm of possibility, especially with the bespoke touches available to Kate.

Roksanda

More from British Vogue’s review:

….dresses that Ilincic did in hand-woven PVC, which are as weighty as chain mail, but much more spectacular than that up close. “Hard and soft, masculine and feminine, sporty and formal,” Ilincic said. “It’s always about the juxtaposition.”

Roksanda

Roksanda

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In the ‘moldy oldies’ category (news that is isn’t ‘new’ in the journalistic sense) we want to share a story that not everyone may have seen, Kate’s private visit to the Treehouse Hospice. As part of Children’s Hospice Week that wrapped up last Friday in the UK, photos were released of the Duchess visiting the EACH (East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices) facility.

Nick Davis Photography

Kind Permission EACH & Nick Davis Photography

EACH shared a statement from the Duchess on its website:

Around the clock support is crucial for children receiving palliative care.  They and their families often need help every hour of every day, both in hospices and at home. As Patron of EACH, I have seen first-hand this remarkable and varied work and just how vital the support of staff and volunteers can be to the families of children with life limiting conditions.

You might recall her first public visit to the Treehouse back in March of 2012, that is when the facility was officially opened. Our thanks to EACH and Nick Davis Photography for sharing the photos of Kate’s visit to the Treehouse.

Kind Permission EACH (East Anglia's Children's Hospices) & Nick Davis Photography

Kind Permission EACH (East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices) & Nick Davis Photography

A visit to the EACH website offers even more information about the organization’s work, and the Children’s Hospice Week site is also a fount of education. You can read the entire news release about Kate’s involvement by clicking here.

The Duchess was in a dress dating back to at least 2002. It is the ‘Duenne’ by Diane von Furstenberg, a classic wrap style in ‘ pink paisley’ print.Tradesy.com

Kate wore the dress to a party at Saint Andrews in 2002, and again in 2005 for dinner with Prince William; a photo from the latter occasion may be seen here. More recently the frock was worn during the 2012 Jubilee Tour as Kate and William were leaving Sabah, as seen in this photo from the Kate Middleton Style blog.

Marny, Friend of KateMiddletonStyle.org

KateMiddletonStyle.org

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We leave you with a photo from our friend Pascale at StyleRocks, the customizable jewelry company. The company is a good friend to us here at WKW, with more-than-generous prizes for giveaways. Susan R., the winner of our most recent giveaway, emailed Pascale this week with word she has received her necklace. More importantly, StyleRocks is generous on multiple charitable fronts, including donations to EACH. That makes it fun to share exciting news: below we see actress Cate Blanchett with Pascale at an event in Sydney, Australia last night.

StyleRocks

StyleRocks

Both women are wearing necklaces from the Russian Rings collection, inscribed with their children’s names. (These are samples from the collection, not the actual pieces being worn above.)

StyleRocks

StyleRocks

It is always a delight to see good things happening to good people.

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ElizaMo

Tuesday 1st of July 2014

Thanks for such a gorgeous post! I love the work of both the designers featured, they all look smart, youthful and lively to me. I love the McQueen experimentation with leather and vinyl which adds a nice touch of fizz and complements the neat sharp lines of the skirts and tops -- I would love to see someone brave enough to step out in those leather leggings.

I'm also seriously impressed with the exuberant experiments with colourful florals, these would make great statement frocks, and I'm particularly fond of the blue flower prints on the monochrome plaid -- sassy and feminine.

I'm also wowed by the Ilincic use of colour, she looks to have gone to a whole new level here and the patterns she has created have a very post-modern feel. And here, I'm afraid, I pause for a quote, as I saw Roksanda herself quoted in my weekend paper saying "Fashion design is comparable to art -- there's much more connection than people think." One for our slightly Soviet-sounding Journal of Aesthetic and Cultural Criticism?

I would agree with Lili that these designs are probably more interesting as creative expression rather than functional outfits, and of course, they are clearly some way outside of Kate's comfort zone. But I think there are plenty of sound ideas in there which would work into royal outfits nicely, a McQueen pleat-front shift dress, a neat flared skirt, even a floral sheath. The basic Ilincic shapes also suit Kate as she demonstrated in Australia, and I don't think it would be too big a stretch for her to include a couple more colours on another outfit.

As for the wrap dress -- that's definitely one for private occasions rather than public in my own view. I still find it a dreary style, too much like a housecoat, and this one even looks sad in the catalogue pictures. That's a fashion I would happily see the back of, it's an example where being comfortable is allowed to outweigh aesthetic concerns.

Tess

Saturday 28th of June 2014

While I'm glad Kate rewears older clothes, a 12 year old dress seems a bit much even for a classic DVS. It seems a bit of a style rut. Not criticizing, it's just that most 30 year olds' style and taste change from the college years and women usually prefer cycle out older clothing for something fresher and "new to them", especially for an appearance like a visit.

Lili

Saturday 28th of June 2014

I owned my first DVF wrap dress in the late 70's. When she started to re-issue them back in the late 90's/early 2000s, I bought 2, and I am still wearing them, in my 50's. I have since bought one more.

I really don't think these classic wrap dresses are something on which one's tastes can change that much. They suit all ages, from 18-80, they're not just for college-aged women by any means. Moreover, they are not inexpensive and therefore not the sort of thing you get rid of if you can still wear them. I own and still wear clothes I bought over 25 years ago, again because they are classically ageless, and I can mix them with cheaper, trendier items. I expected them to last when I spent a fair amount of money on them, and they have.

This visit, by the way, was obviously not calculated to get a lot of press attention. Photos were released later, but we didn't see the Duchess arriving and greeting waiting bystanders; it was a rather more private visit than her usual official engagements. For that -- and because of the nature of the venue -- I think a previously-worn, tried-and-true dress, instead of something new and perhaps distracting, was appropriate.

Lili

Friday 27th of June 2014

Ah. I was worried that something had gone wrong in KateWorld. Given our increasing dependence on computers, even entire amusement parks can go down owing to one minor program/coding glitch, so how vulnerable is this, our favorite virtual store/gossip magazine/journal of aesthetic and cultural criticism?

(Feel free to use that, Susan, "Journal of Aesthetic and Cultural Criticism," the next time someone accuses WKW of being a "frivolous" blog.)

As for clothes, our raison d'etre, I have to say that I don't think much of the McQueens -- too much, as shown on runways, and falling into the fashion-forward non-wearable category. I find that annoying, even though I know that we should just enjoy the creative imagination. At my age, I've lost patience, I suppose. Even as I do appreciate the creativity, I am looking for wearability. Sometimes, as with the Duchess's "Utility Coat," runway styles don't translate all that well to wearability. though she, if anyone can, is able to get a style modified and toned down, to suit her tastes and needs.

The Ilincics are MUCH better, though still rather progressive for our Duchess. I fully expect to see something in this family of designs modified for her at some point, though I won't venture to guess now what might be done.

I remain very fond of my DVF wrap dresses, a couple of which well predate 2002. They are still wearable in almost all circumstances. I don't much care for the pattern of the Duchess's dress, but I am entirely in sympathy with her desire to keep wearing this classic as long as she can.

mslewis

Monday 30th of June 2014

"Wearability" of any clothing item depends on the person wearing it. I've never worn McQueen but I know people who do and they say the clothes are comfortable. These women are lawyers who work very long hours and are in and out of meetings where they have to look professional and pulled together and McQueen, McCartney and Ralph Lauren are their designers of choice. I see these women every day and they look good. If I could afford Sarah Burton I would buy everything she designs.

As for DVF, her company actually went out of business 20 years ago and women would go to second-hand stores to buy her dresses. I only have one that I purchased years ago and still wear it and feel good in it. That wrap dress will never go out of style.

Claudia

Friday 27th of June 2014

Thanks for the updates Susan!

One little note, there isn't an English Tour de France team as such. Lots of the teams have links with countries based on sponsorship though (like the Sky team with Britain). Most of the teams have riders from all over the world - the US, France, Columbia, Poland etc. I love that they're starting in Yorkshire, it's a beautiful part of the world! I have to say one of my favourite parts of watching the Tour is the countryside, and the beautiful aerial shots from helicopters of country houses and castles.

Pascale's necklaces are beautiful - so lovely to see her successes!

Pascale

Sunday 29th of June 2014

Claudia - thanks so much! x

admin

Friday 27th of June 2014

Hi Claudia, you are wonderful to let me know of the error, thank you! I corrected the copy. :)

Patricia

Friday 27th of June 2014

Great post again! :) Oh how I love her style! She is always so beautiful and stylish ;))

http://patricia-loves-fashion.blogspot.com/

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