Kate Sparkles in Jenny Packham for Photography Awards Gala

Kate returned to another favorite designer for this evening’s engagement at the Natural History Museum.

The Duchess wore an elegant Jenny Packham evening gown for the Museum’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year gala.

Kate’s dress featured a deeply veed neckline, three quarter sleeves, gathers at the front waist and concealed back zipper.

Jenny Packham described the color as ‘pale jade’ in an Instagram post about Kate’s dress, a hue featured in the designer’s spring 2015 collection. Below, a comparison of Kate’s dress and a gown from next spring’s runway show.

This was Kate’s second engagement today; the Daily Mail’s story has more on the evening’s events:

Hours after attending a ceremonial welcome at the start of a four-day State visit to Britain by President Tony Tan of Singapore, Kate looked in good health and chatted animatedly with her hosts.

Kate, 32, who is patron of the museum, joined television naturalist Sir David Attenborough to present the awards after meeting finalists and viewing an exhibition of their work. 

There are actually two lengths, the draped overskirt, or wrap dress portion of the frock, and the skirt underneath. The dress appears to be a custom version of this Jenny Packham style from the a/w 2014 Cruise Collection. We show it at Neiman Marcus, where it is called the Three-Quarter Sleeve Gown with Wrap Front.

The description of the dress better explains the garment’s construction.

• Wrap front creates surplice neckline; jeweled embellishments at waist. (Kate’s version obviously doesn’t have the modesty panel in the neckline or the jeweled embellishment.)
• Slim silhouette with gathered-into waist and straight envelope skirt.

The beaded version shown at Neimans is $5765. Here is a view offering greater clarity on the two different dress layers.

The Duchess carried another handbag by Alexander McQueen, a custom version of a basic piece, the brand’s Knuckle Box or Knuckle Duster clutch.

The clutch is offered in different colors and materials each season. Below we show two such styles: on the top it’s Lake Tulip Lace version at Bergdorf Goodman ($1995) and on the bottom you see the Ivy Embroidery version at Alexander McQueen ($3895).

The bags are modified to remove the ornate skull closures. Below left, a bag much like Kate’s that was found by Ashley Marie, and Kate’s version, minus the elaborate skull that is part of the closure hardware.

All of the Alexander McQueen handbags Kate carries have to be altered to eliminate the skull portion of the clasp.

Another example of a McQueen clutch with the clasp changed to project a more regal style.

Kate brought back a pair of LK Bennett shoes we first saw at the 2011 annual ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) dinner, the Agata suede sandals.

She also wore a Jenny Packham gown for that engagement.

This evening we saw the Duchess in new jewelry, a sparkling diamond necklace and matching earrings.

Anna of My Small Obsessions has identified both pieces; they are from a jeweler Kate has not worn previously, Monica Vinader. The earrings are the Riva Diamond Cluster Drops, with pavé diamonds set in rose gold-plated sterling silver ($1245).

These images offer a slightly better look at the necklace.

The matching Riva Diamond Bib Necklace necklace was only available at Harrods and we haven’t been able to locate any product images of that item to share; for an Instagram photo by Monica Vinader of a friend wearing the necklace, click here.

UPDATED: Monica Vinader has made the necklace available for pre-ordering.

Two more angles showing the necklace and earrings.

The Riva collection encompasses a variety of pieces and styles, the designer says it is inspired by her travels “and the glamour of the Italian Riviera.”

Kate’s return to official engagements was front page news.

This was an outstanding look for the Duchess. The dress color worked perfectly with her coloring, she looked healthy, confident and very much in her element at the awards.

LINKAGE:

• the Natural History Museum website is here, its Facebook page is here & the Museum’s information on the photography competition and exhibition is available here
• the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Facebook page is here, the British Wildlife Photographers Association website is here and the Association’s Facebook page is here
• the International Business Times has a gallery here of the winning images and finalists
• the Daily Mail’s photo-laden story is here, ITV’s story is here, PopSugar’s gallery is here,  and Just Jared’s photo gallery is here