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It’s Fashion Forward at Buckingham Palace & Hello Lacorine!

The Duchess wore Erdem for tonight’s Commonwealth Fashion Exchange reception at Buckingham Palace.  

Kate co-hosted the reception with Sophie, Countess of Wessex, on behalf of The Queen. Rebecca English of The Daily Mail shared this video of the two arriving at the Palace’s Music Room this evening. 

More from the Palace news release:

The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange aims to create partnerships between established and emerging talent from across the 52 member countries, in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London this April.

Over the last six months, major fashion designers such as Stella McCartney (UK), Karen Walker (New Zealand) and Bibi Russell (Bangladesh) have partnered with artisan producers in small nations who exemplify traditional handcraft techniques and trades, with a view to creating a ‘skills exchange’.

Guests at tonight’s party included (l to r): Alice Temperley, Naomi Campbell, and Erin O’Connor.

Also taking part, Anna Wintour, British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, Anya HindmarchStella McCartney and other industry notables.

Designs created as a result of the partnerships were featured at the reception.

The skirt and coat you see in the background are by Rizwan Beyg, “featuring motifs designed by the ‘truck artists’ of Pakistan. The pattern of the garment was first worked on by original truck artists and digitally printed on silk after which it was embroidered by the village women of Bahawalpur.”

The Duchess speaking with Stella McCartney and Anna Wintour. 

Following tonight’s party, the designs will be moved to other London locations to be showcased to the public. 

The fuchsia dress is the result of Stella McCartney’s partnership with Oshadi Silk in southern India

 

Below left, the design created by Karen Walker and Tukua Tuna. On the right, Ms. Walker hugging her design collaborator.

The event was timed to take place during London Fashion Week, which started this past weekend. The new endeavor is supported by both the British Fashion Council and the Commonwealth Fashion Council. Sophie is royal patron of the London College of Fashion; she is seen below with model Adwoah Aboah (l) and Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council Caroline Rush.

Now to what the royals wore for this evening’s reception.

Kate was in Erdem’s “Suzi Guipure Lace Dress” ($2975). 

The dress has an empire waist, vee-neck, three-quarter sleeves, and scalloped lace detailing at the hem, sleeves and neckline. There is an applied ruffle or frill at the waistline and the sleeves have a ruffled cuff. The lace dress is 100% polyester atop a silk lining.Kate’s dress is longer than the original version, hitting below the knee by several inches. 

The dress was also available at Barney’s in a lemony yellow and white.

Kate’s earrings are by Anita Dongre, from the designer’s Pinkcity line. They were first worn in February 2017 at a Buckingham Palace reception kicking off the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture. 

Kate carried her Alexander McQueen Heart Clasp clutch first noted at the 2017 BAFTA awards. The piece is on sale at Neiman Marcus, discounted by 50% to $1347.    

The Duchess brought back her Prada Wavy Cutout suede pumps for the event. 

Sophie wore Burberry, identified by Anna of the Countess of Wessex blog as the brand’s Contrast Topstitch Detail Dress.

Anna Wintour also wore Erdem. Michelle of Perth’s Fashion pointed out her dress is from the designer’s pre-fall 2018 collection. 

Princess Beatrice attended the reception, and she also wore Erdem.

Erdem’s a/w 2018 collection was shown at Fashion Week today. 

We’ll save that for another post. I think I need an Erdem Time-Out. 

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Also today, I am excited to share some background and a discount code from a new sponsor here at WKW, Lacorine. Many readers will recognize the company’s name; Lacorine makes alpaca fur hats we have seen Kate wearing.

Most recently we saw the Duchess wearing Lacorine’s Sumac style in Oslo, Norway.

It is a design Kate is clearly fond of; she wore the piece for church services at Sandringham this past January. Below we see her with the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince William.

On both occasions, the Duchess was wearing the Lacorine Sumac Hat in the chestnut brown colorway. The hat is described as “Divinely soft, fluffy and warm, with a generous brim, our luxury alpaca hat is a knock-out – perfect for a winter wedding or the races.”

Lacorine has a fascinating story. The firm was started by Antonia Valentin Jacob, who grew up in Lima, Peru. Here you see her as a little girl.

All of Lacorine’s products are made using ethically sourced materials; the Peruvian alpaca fur is from animals that died naturally, most often from Peru’s harsh winter climate.

Antonia travels to Peru three times a year, where she sources materials and meets with the artisans who create Lacorine’s products. More on this via the company’s website

The fact that I’m from Peru has enabled us to create lasting relationships centred on trust and respect and the love of the alpaca itself. I spend a great deal of time sourcing and designing my collection while on the ground in Peru which ensure each item is of the highest quality.   

Lacorine supports marginalized small producers and independent family businesses in Peru and establishes long term secure working practices wherever possible to help producers to have secure incomes enabling them to be self-sufficient.

 

As Antonia told Claudia Joseph in an interview for The Daily Mail, “They are artisans who have been in the industry for years, and their skills have been passed down from generation to generation.” 

Pippa Middleton is also a fan of the brand. Here you see her wearing Lacorine’s Qori in chocolate brown at Cheltenham in 2013.   

The company is a member of the British Association for Fair Trade Shops and Suppliers and committed to supporting the artisans and small business with whom it works. Ethical Hedonist magazine took note when seeing that Kate wore a hat by a certified fair trade fashion company.     

The hat also catapulted its maker, a little known certified fairtrade fashion house…….. onto the world stage and suddenly Fairtrade and ethical fashion is in vogue!

The age of conscious, compassionate luxury is upon us, with the prized baby alpaca fur coming from animals that have died naturally, in the midst of a harsh Peruvian winter, rather than being sheared for their precious, soft as a cloud wool.

Here at Ethical Hedonist, we have been talking about the idea of compassionate luxury for years, and we are interested to see this capture the collective imagination.

Below, Kate wears the Sumac in silver grey when attending church services at Sandringham in January 2017.  

The Sumac comes in a variety of colors. From left to right: white, champagne, copper, chestnut brown, and chocolate.

It is also carried in silver grey, grey, black and red. 

Hats are just one of the many products offered by Lacorine. The company also offers soft toys (including darling alpacas) and scarves.

If you have been pondering the possibility of purchasing a Lacorine for yourself, or perhaps as a gift for someone else, now is the perfect time because we have a discount code you can use: use promo code WKW at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase. (The special offer ends February 28th.) You can also follow Lacorine on Facebook, as well as on Twitter and Instagram.    

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Mallory

Friday 23rd of February 2018

What a fun event this must have been!

Thank you for the Lacorine discount. I have trouble finding hats that fit and are flattering and was delighted to see that the alpaca hat comes in different sizes. Just ordered it in chestnut and can't wait to get it.

Emily

Wednesday 21st of February 2018

I LOVE black and white lace, but think the problem with Kates dress lies in the length. It ends on the widest part of her calves which isnt the most flattering point and in turn, makes the dress style seem out of proportion. I think either knee length or ankle length would have fixed this dilhemma!

Also, looks like Sophies watch/bracelet is a fitbit! :D

Ceci

Tuesday 20th of February 2018

I only like the shoes Kate and Sophie chose for the event. Sophie's shoes make me wonder if she'd planned to wear a different dress and something went wrong at the last moment? While their dresses are expensive, I don't read cocktail party from them.

sue d

Wednesday 21st of February 2018

sophie's dress does not seem like a cocktail dress.....a bit informal i think..........love the shoes though.!

Allison

Tuesday 20th of February 2018

I'll never criticize anything Kate wears because she looks flawless in anything and everything. Thank you for all the work you put into your blog!

Bridget =)

Tuesday 20th of February 2018

Gosh, I really like this look!!!!! I'm shocked more don't like it!

JR

Wednesday 21st of February 2018

I agree, I thought she looked lovely, and I'd love for my legs to look like hers any day of the week - and I'm not pregnant!

ElizaMo

Wednesday 21st of February 2018

I have to admit I've now gone full circle on this one. It seems I must get something out of my system when I criticise an outfit as this is not the first time I've come back to a Kate outfit and seen it with fresh eyes.

It certainly represents a big gear change from the Packham worn for the acting luvvies. But now the dress strikes me as edgy and fun. Goodness knows there's been enough black-and-white on recent catwalks so I know it's up-to-date.

It's just I'd assumed monochrome might exclude the likes of Erdem and all the mixed prints. But, no, this has re-worked the b&w theme like a pro.

I'm particularly struck by how the top part uses ruffles to create the shape of a bolero or shrug. It leaves a natural opening just where Kate's belly now begins to swell and is a canny choice for maternity.

I also felt that Wintour seemed to eye the dress appreciatively which made me wonder if I'd missed something. I enjoy having my fashion sense challenged in this way much as I enjoy some aspects of modern art or classical music which at first seem alien but on a revisit start to make a kind of sense. WKW has delivered again & I'm grateful to all those who argued in favour of this original and captivating frock

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