The Duchess in a Familiar Print for National Portrait Gallery Gala

The Duchess was in a print we have seen before for tonight’s National Portrait Gallery Gala.

A quick video of Kate as she arrived.

The Duchess of Cambridge arrives for this evening’s @NPGLondon #PortraitGala, where Her Royal Highness will meet members of the Gallery’s Youth Forum and view artwork produced by some of the National Portrait Gallery’s outreach schemes. pic.twitter.com/AYnvxWGc0X

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) March 12, 2019

The guest list for tonight’s fundraiser was filled with notable names, including David and Victoria Beckham.

British Vogue editor Edward Enninful, OBE, and his executive assistant, Deborah Ababio. Mr. Enninful chaired this year’s Gala committee. 

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozilla, said to be her beau.

MSN has more on other guests:

Princess Margaret’s son Lord Snowdon, David Linley, also attended the event.

Other star guests included One Direction pop star Liam Payne, fashion designer Oswald Boateng and legendary British photojournalist and war photographer, Sir Don McCullin CBE, who was accompanied by his wife Catherine Fairweather.

Liam Payne.

Model Kate Moss. 

Bianca Jagger.

Alexa Chung.

Kate was greeted by Westminster’s Deputy Lord Lieutenant Dr. Paul Knapman (center) and Dr. Nicholas Cullinan, NPG Director (left).

Heading up to the festivities. 

Below, the Duchess speaking with Dr. Cullinan, Mr. Enninful and I *think* David Ross, the chairman of the Trustee Board for the gallery.

Kate was given flowers by members of the NPG Youth Forum.

Funds from this year’s gala will go to “Inspiring People: Transforming our National Portrait Gallery,” a project for the complete renewal of the gallery that will see a significant refurbishment of the building.

More about the evening from ArtLyst:

The event itinerary included a DJ set by Mike Skinner; a live performance from saxophonist Jess Gillam and pianist Zeynep Özsuca; a photography studio by Miles Aldridge, set amongst the National Portrait Gallery’s Victorian Galleries, and a private view of the exhibitions Elizabethan Treasures: Miniatures by Hilliard & Oliver and Only Human: Martin Parr.

And from The Daily Mail:

Kate…chatted to members of the galleries Youth Forum and viewed art produced by the gallery’s outreach programmes.

Kate was also told of the gallery’s most extensive programme of activities nationwide, with plans to engage audiences onsite, locally, regionally and online. Activity includes a UK wide schools programme for teaching history and art, a national skills – sharing coll aboration with other museums and galleries and new partnerships with organisations throughout the country.

Now for our look at what Kate wore, which is still a bit of a puzzle.

When first seeing Kate, it looked like she reworked her Alexander McQueen 2017 BAFTA gown, adding sleeves to the dress.

The two gowns from the back. 

The addition of the sleeves and elimination of the Bardot neckline were obvious. But there was also a distinction if you looked closely at the print on the bodice; while it is the same as that used in the BAFTA gown, it is placed differently from the way it sits on the original dress.   

It also looks like the skirt could be different as well, which would mean this isn’t a reworked gown, but a new piece. 

UPDATE MAR 13: After looking at more photos today and reading the very insightful comments on the post, here is my best guess: the Duchess had the bodice reworked to add the sleeves but kept the same skirt or the majority of it. The thought many shared that the removal of the crinoline(s) that gave the skirt its volume seems spot-on. By no means can I say unequivocally this is precisely what transpired, but it seems to make the most sense. An enormous thank you to those who shared their input, especially the seamstresses and others far more schooled in this sort of thing than I am.

The Duchess carried her Prada clutch.

Just as we saw this morning with the return of the Hope Egg Earrings (after 7 years!), tonight the ‘Cosmic’ pumps by Jimmy Choo made a return engagement. The style is suede with a 4.5″ heel and 1″ platform.  

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

This is the third time the Duchess has attended the NPG Gala. For the 2014 event, she wore a Jenny Packham gown accessorized by the Queen’s Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace, and for the 2017 Gala, she wore a lace gown by Temperley London.

LINKAGE:

• Learn more about the Gallery at the NPG website here; the Gallery’s Facebook page is here; its main Twitter feed is here; the Youth Forum Twitter account is here; the gallery’s Instagram page is here; the Inspiring People pages start here
• The MSN story is here; The Daily Mail’s coverage is here; The Mirror’s piece is here;
• The ArtLyst story is here; PopSugar‘s gallery is here; a Hello! piece is here; the Fug Girls have a poll here on sleeves versus the off-the-shoulder design