Kate Wears Markus Lupfer and Diana’s Bracelet for Berlin Reception

Kate made her third wardrobe change of the day for tonight’s creative industries reception. She used the opportunity to wear another sartorial selection recognizing her host country. The Duchess wore a dress by Markus Lupfer, a German-born, London-based designer. The event was at the historic Clärchens Ballhaus.

The Ballhaus is the last remaining old-time ballroom/dance hall in Germany. The following is from a 2013 Der Spiegel story:

Clärchens Ballhaus has seen illegal dueling, Nazi dancing bans, wartime destruction and communist black-marketeering. Fans celebrating its 100th anniversary this week say it retains a timeless charm that makes it an enduring icon of Berlin nightlife.

The Ballhaus now serves food in its beer garden and is used for concerts, parties, dance lessons, and many other activities. More about tonight’s reception from The Daily Mail:

Tonight’s event in the German capital offers a chance for Kate and William to meet faces from the world of art, culture, style, fashion and technology before they back to the UK tomorrow afternoon

One of those famous faces: Game Of Thrones star Thomas Wlaschiha.

Kate wore a dress from the Markus Lupfer pre-fall collection.

The designer calls it the Teal Bird Pleated Arabella Dress; the sleeveless style features a wild sparrow print. It hit just below the shin, so it is beyond midi length, perhaps best referred to as “almost maxi length.” The bodice isn’t what I would call blouson style, but it was leaning in that direction.

The material is more interesting than readily seen, here is a look at the bodice for Kate’s dress, as well as a blouse in another colorway. Additionally, if you look at the waist on Kate’s dress, you can see (barely) what I think are raw edges of the material.

This evening the Markus Lupfer Facebook page says:

“Fit for a princess: Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge wows in our Wild Sparrow Dress at a reception tonight in Berlin.

This style has already sold out, but discover more of the Wild Sparrow story from our Pre-Fall ’17 Collection online now

I think the company might have known Kate could wear the dress this evening; it is featured on the label’s home page.

Many thanks to HeavenQRF on Twitter for another fab ID, she really is a whiz!

Thoughts about the dress election from Bethan Holt’s Telegraph column:

What to wear for an evening in the midst of some of Berlin’s most eccentric and creative inhabitants, at a venue renowned as a hipster playground?

It’s not a dressing conundrum which many royals face, but tonight the Duchess of Cambridge stepped up to the challenge. In the end, she swerved the chance to wear something from one of Berlin’s community of avant-garde young fashion designers, opting instead for a chic yet richly decorative dress by Markus Lupfer, a German-born, London-based designer who is best known for his quirkily colourful knitwear.

More about the designer from the company’s web site:

Lupfer is renowned for his humorously subversive knitwear and inspired approach to jersey daywear and tailoring. His innovative and often surreal use of print, embroidery and graphic embellishment, continues to earn him a devoted celebrity following.

Madonna, Beyonce, Rhianna, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevigne, Olivia Palermo, Anna Kendrick, and Nina Dobrev are listed as fans of the designer. Pippa Middleton also wears the label.

Kate’s most interesting accessory tonight: the 3-strand pearl bracelet worn on her left wrist.

I received a number of messages and emails about it and its similarity to a bracelet worn by Diana, Princess of Wales. On this topic, I defer to royal jewelry expert Order of Splendor whose thoughts can be seen in this tweet about the bracelet.

I see I’m not the only one wondering if Kate wore Diana’s pearl bracelet in Germany. I have to agree with others, she did! pic.twitter.com/om6U2MrlZo

— Order of Splendor (@orderofsplendor) July 20, 2017

Diana wore the bracelet in 1989 with the iconic Catherine Walker strapless dress and bolero jacket that she called her “Elvis dress.” (More about the dress here.)

There was some thought that this is a bracelet Kate wore to the Order of Garter in 2008.

Here is a closer look at the bracelet.

Order of Splendor notes the spacer bar on the 2008 bracelet is different from that on Diana’s bracelet. So it appears that Kate wore a vintage piece of Princess Diana’s for this evening’s reception in Berlin.

The Duchess brought back her Soru Baroque Pearl earrings (£130).

We saw a new clutch that is not yet identified. Kate’s handbag appears to be a style by Anne Grand-Clément.

The bags are handmade in India; we learn more about the process from the designer:

Each one of my pouches reflects the amazing labour of one embroiderer whose singular skill has been passed down for generations. Using a traditional Beauvais stitch, the embroiderer is seated bending over the loom as if in meditation. Up to 30 hours is needed to complete one pouch.

It looks like Kate’s belt (seen in pictures above) might be by Jenny Packham, with thanks to Michelle of Perth’s Fashion once again for her detective work on this item. Her tweet (below) shows several examples of the style.

Jenny Packham Belt –> Jenny Packham Bridal Collection pic.twitter.com/MTqpWQINOD

— MF Stylist Perth (@PerthsFashion) July 22, 2017

Kate wore the Prada Scalloped Suede Sandals seen last night, a suede style in a color called ‘quartz’ or ‘quarzo.’ This color is sold out, but they are still available in black in very limited sizes at Net-a-Porter. NOTE: The initial photo showed the wrong style Prada sandal; *thank you* to those who let me know so I could correct the picture.

Tonight’s other hot fashion topic: the shoes worn by the gentleman acting as host to William and Kate.

On the Facebook page, Beth F suggests they are by Merluti; I think she may be right!

If you missed our earlier post about the Heidelberg and River Neckar engagements, click here to get caught up on those outfits.

We have a sidebar addition of particular interest in light of our discussion about Princess Diana and one of her jewelry pieces. Jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane died today; we have more from Vogue:

Lane designed his namesake jewelry line for more than 50 years and was a firm believer that glamour should be an attainable, everyday luxury.

He never ventured into fine jewelry, but that didn’t stop socialites and celebrities from choosing his pieces over the real thing—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Princess Diana were frequently photographed in Lane’s designs.

Kate has also worn Kenneth Jay Lane, the Silvertone Crystal Earrings. 

We’ll see you tomorrow for the final day of the tour.

Friday, July 21:

• The final day of the tour begins in Hamburg, Germany’s second-largest city, with a visit to the city’s Maritime Museum. The Duke and Duchess celebrate the UK-German Year of Science; an initiative focused on the world’s oceans.
• The couple’s next engagement is at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, one of the largest concert halls in the world.  Kate and William will hear a special performance for children by the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.
• The final official stop of the tour is the Airbus Hamburg Campus, where the Duke and Duchess will meet German and English apprentices and see the final assembly of an A320 aircraft.
• The tour concludes here, as the group departs directly from Airbus and returns to London.