It’s a Floaty, Flowing Gucci Gown for 100 Women in Finance Gala

The Duchess wore Gucci for tonight’s 100 Women in Finance gala dinner.

The event was at the V&A Museum. Below, museum director Dr. Tristram Hunt greeting the Duchess along with Jane Davis, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London. 

Kate is the Victoria and Albert’s royal patron.

The Duchess waving to well-wishers gathered in hopes of seeing her tonight.

This quick video by Rebecca English offers a sense of how the skirt flows.

More from tonight’s event….. pic.twitter.com/i51LjetEZ3

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) February 13, 2019

More about the organization from The Daily Mirror’s story by Russell Myers:

100 Women in Finance, previously known as 100 Women in Hedge Funds is a leading non-profit organisation for professionals in the alternative investments industry.

Each year, 100WF’s Board of Directors selects a beneficiary for its philanthropic initiatives, which cover women’s and family health, mentoring and education programmes.

The Duchess is a patron of 100 Women in Finance’s Philanthropic Initiatives, joining Prince Harry in that role in 2012, along with Prince William, who has been a patron since 2009. Here you see her with Amanda Pullinger, Chief Executive of the organization, and Lauren Malafronte, the Board’s Chair.

The function was a fundraiser for the Royal Foundation’s “Mentally Healthy Schools” program, and Kate was the guest of honor.

A video from Emily Nash showing Kate descending the staircase as seen above in the still.

WATCH: The #DuchessofCambridge makes her entrance into the Raphael Gallery for the dinner with Amanda Pullinger. Taking no risks in heels and sensibly holding onto the handrail! #100wf #MentallyHealthySchools pic.twitter.com/LmdetuPY3m

— Emily Nash (@emynash) February 13, 2019

Following dinner, the Duchess delivered remarks.

Some of Kate’s remarks via The Daily Mail’s coverage of tonight’s gala:

I have often been asked why I have decided to focus my work on the early years. Having been lucky enough to meet some of our country’s amazing charities and organisations, tackling some of our hardest social challenges, I became acutely aware just how important the earliest years of our lives really are.

The root cause of some of our most challenging experiences in adulthood, such as poor mental and physical health, addiction, homelessness, crime and family breakdown, can so often be traced back to the very earliest years of someone’s life and often over generations.

The mentally healthy schools programme is the first of its kind and aims to help all children, all teachers in all primary schools across the UK.

We’ll start our look at what the Duchess wore with her Gucci evening gown.

The off-the-shoulder design featured an intricately ruched bodice and a floaty, flowing skirt in layers of pleated tulle. Kate accented the waistline with a velvet band.

It looked like Kate was in her Cabrina pumps by Oscar de la Renta in the ‘platinum lamé’ colorway. The point-toe style features scalloped sides, a raised back, and a 4″ heel.

She carried the Prada clutch we first saw at Princess Eugenie’s wedding. NOTE: The clutch shown below is the basic Prada style that we think was customized in velvet for Kate. Thank you to Gabriella for pointing this out, I originally forgot to include that in the post. 

Kate’s hair was worn down. 

She wore the morganite and diamond earrings by Kiki McDonough that were worn at Pippa’s wedding.

This is the fourth 100 Women in Hedge Funds/Finance function the Duchess has attended. In 2011 she wore a gown by Beulah London; in 2013 we saw the inky blue Jenny Packham; for the 2015 event, Kate wore the much-discussed Erdem Alouette gown.

A look at the Duchess as she was leaving tonight’s dinner. 

A side note about Kate’s choices today. As a rule, we stay focused on clothing, accessories, hair and makeup. Today I don’t think we can ignore the elephant in the room: the Duchess wearing not one, but two labels facing intense criticism for racially offensive advertising and products. (The Duchess was in a Dolce and Gabbana suit for this morning’s engagement.) I thought it might be easier to handle the topic in comments, but it makes more sense to include the basics in this post instead of making people scroll up and down through comments. This is from Fashionista:

Of course, it must be noted that the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t exactly pick the best week to wear Gucci, a brand which is currently under fire for releasing a sweater which bears an alarming resemblance to blackface. (It was, in fact, a bad optics day for fashion all around, with the Duchess also choosing a Dolce & Gabbana suit for another appearance earlier on Wednesday; the Italian fashion house has yet to bounce back from a racist incident of their own.)

And this piece is from The Telegraph’s senior fashion editor, Charlie Gowans-Eglinton.

After Dolce & Gabbana’s advertising campaign – released in the run up to the show- drew allegations of racism, comments made on the brand’s social media accounts added fuel to the fire. The brand’s founders later released a video apology.

Scandals like this are nothing new in fashion – but the public response to them has changed. Social media means that news spreads fast, and globally, and puts the power in the hands of the consumer. Now everyone has the platform to call out brands for their behaviour.

Sometimes a dress is just a dress. But I’d argue that in the current climate, it’s so much more – and perhaps even a Duchess needs to be ‘woke’.

There is no way of knowing if Kate is aware of either issue. And as pointed out by SG in a comment, there is an enormous difference between the ongoing years of D&G issues and Gucci’s situation. I have had a few emails and messages asking how often Kate has worn either/both brands. Kate has worn Dolce and Gabbana with some frequency, including royal tours and other engagements.

It has also been a choice for Wimbledon and Royal Ascot.

As best I can remember, the only other time we have seen Kate in a Gucci garment was for a June 2017 engagement that was also at the V&A. She has also carried a Gucci clutch. 

If you missed this morning’s coverage of the Mental Health in Education conference, click here to read that post.

LINKAGE:

• Learn more about 100 Women in Hedge Funds at its website, follow them on Facebook here or on Twitter here
• Visit the Mentally Healthy Schools site by clicking here; information about the Mentally Healthy initiative is here; the Mentally Healthy Schools site is here
• The Daily Mail’s coverage is here; The Mirror’s coverage is here; Caroline Hallemann’s Town and Country piece is here; a Hello! story about Kate’s ensemble is here
• The Telegraph’s story on Kate’s clothing choices today is here; an excellent NY Times story on the D&G situation is here, and this Fashionista piece has the latest details on the Gucci incident