The Duchess was in Oscar de la Renta for today’s visit to the Royal Opera House.
Kate was there to learn about the costume department, the textiles it uses and its methods for creating the elaborate costumes worn by Royal Opera performers, as well as those worn by members of the Royal Ballet. (The Ballet is housed at the Opera House.) In a news release, Kensington Palace noted that “The textile and manufacturing industry is an area of interest to The Duchess.”
The Palace also noted that “Her Royal Highness’ great-great-grandfather, Francis Martineau Lupton, was a mill owner who ran the family’s successful textile manufacturing business, William Lupton & Company, with his three brothers.”
The Duchess with Morag Beaton, supervisor of the stockroom, in the photo above, and below.
Kate learned about techniques for coloring textiles, including hand painting and staining of fabric.
She also saw modern methods for applying color, like a state-of-the-art digital dye machine.
A video from the dye shop.
In the @RoyalOperaHouse’s dye shop, digital printing is used to reproduce historic fabrics. #RoyalOperaHouse pic.twitter.com/ojYzRTsZ2Q
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 16, 2019
A look at fabric that was digitally dyed.
Another exquisite piece of material from the same palette.
The Duchess spent time with Fay Fullerton, Head of Costume at the Opera.
Ms. Fullerton showed the Duchess Royal Ballet costumes.
Fay Fullerton, @RoyalOperaHouse’s Head of Costume, shows The Duchess ballet costumes during today’s visit to Covent Garden – which are especially designed to allow dancers to move freely. #RoyalOperaHouse pic.twitter.com/yKIxXCYOze
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) January 16, 2019
Here is a jacket from Swan Lake.
My guess is that this one is also from the Tchaikovsky classic. My guess was wrong, but thanks to a comment from Ballet Fan, we can correctly identify it as being from The Two Pigeons, the piece Kate saw being rehearsed (next pix).
The Duchess met several of the Ballet’s principal dancers; from left to right you see Laura Morera (dark purple top), Lauren Cuthbertson, and Vadim Muntagirov.
The Duchess watching Ms.Cuthbertson. On the right, personal private secretary, Catherine Quinn.
As mentioned, the dancers are rehearsing scenes from The Two Pigeons, opening Friday.
The Kiki McDonough earrings Kate wore yesterday are part of the Lauren Collection, named in Ms. Cuthbertson’s honor. More from the Kiki McDonough site:
When you visit Kiki McDonough on Symons Street in London, the influence of ballet is clear from the moment you walk in. You’ll see a framed, signed Margot Fonteyn ballet shoe, with the programme corresponding to the ballet she danced in the 1960s in that very shoe – Giselle. Kiki also has shoes signed by Lauren Cuthbertson, “a great favourite of mine – we did the Lauren collection together….
The ballerina and jeweler.
Thank you, Stephanie Champion Helton, for alerting me to that info!
Now for our look at what Kate wore this morning, starting with her Oscar de la Renta skirt suit consisting of two pieces from the 2015 a/w collection.
From our initial description of the jacket: the three-quarter sleeve tailored jacket features a fitted bodice with a pleated, flared hem. There are dual front besom pockets, a pointed collar, and slits at the end of the sleeves. This piece also has multiple panels and seams below the yoke on the back and the pockets on the front.
Both pieces are made of a wool bouclé that is a wool/poly blend with a touch of Elastane for ease of movement. The skirt has box pleats and a hidden back zipper.
The set was first worn to a Health Writers conference in February 2017.
Kate’s shoes are a new pair from Rupert Sanderson, the ‘Nada’ style.
They are adorned with a ‘pebble,’ an embellishment the footwear designer offers. Here you see two different pebble styles.
Our thanks to Gabi and the UFO No More team for the ID work on Kate’s heels.
The Duchess carried her Aspinal Midi Mayfair bag handbag again today.
The 8″ x 6″ bag is made of Italian leather embossed with a croc pattern. It is available at Aspinal ($725), as well as at Orchard Mile in the US ($725).
We saw the return of Kate’s oft-worn Asprey Oak Leaf earrings. Below you see them when worn to another engagement.
LINKAGE:
- Learn more about the Royal Ballet by visiting this section of the Royal Opera House website; the ROH Facebook page is here; the ROH Instagram page is here; the organization’s YouTube page is here; a Royal Ballet-specific Twitter feed is here
BerlinLondon
Tuesday 29th of January 2019
Alright, I've decided to join the peanut gallery now instead of pointing out how unnerving it can be to read so much "advice". First of all I've never seen the duchess in anything that I found totally ugly. This one here falls into the "nice-but-missing-something-category"for me.However she wore it better this time.The shoes and the bag make more of a statement this time.I found that the timid accessorizing made the whole thing look half-baked last time.Now her bag/shoes give more visual information and allow to associate things.It has been said here that a tight skirt in that length would have been better.Now if I imagine that in a shade a little more suitable for blondes I see something Diana could have worn in the 1990s (taking their uniquely different body shapes into account).I don't believe that's what Kate was striving for (nor what she necessarily would like to hear) but I think this adds a nice flavour. However it has to be "Catherine-in-2019" and not "Diana-in-1996".So for me a longer pencil skirt ( covering the knee) would work better than a mid-1990s-Miniskirt.
Aidna
Sunday 27th of January 2019
I don’t know why Kate doesn’t wear patent leather pumps more often! They are stunning on her!
Also I wish she would get a pair of Christian louboutin Bianca 140mm pumps or so Kate 120mm pumps. They would be amazing on her!
Amy M
Saturday 26th of January 2019
I’m again impressed in the comments by the differences in opinion. Some think the skirt is too flared and wish for a sleek suit option. I’ve seen many chastise her for wearing tight, sleek suit skirts. I love this suit outfit. She’s good at matching outfits to events and this makes sense for a ballet-related event. She loves her feminine, girly girl outfits and so this shouldn’t really come as any surprise. She’s nearing 40 but she doesn’t look it, so I don’t see why she should need to dress it yet. I think ankle boots would have been cute but she very rarely wears them so I’m not surprised she didn’t.
Lisa
Sunday 20th of January 2019
not a fan of the shoes, I actually prefer the other 2 styles you show
Lee
Tuesday 22nd of January 2019
I agree, I don't like these shoes. Quite ugly to be honest.
BalletFan
Sunday 20th of January 2019
One small correction: the second costume (the white one with feather detail) is not from Swan Lake but from The Two Pigeons, which Lauren Cuthbertson, Vadim Muntagirov, Laura Morera and Thomas Mock were rehearsing that day (see https://goo.gl/images/xpb8Q8).