Eager fashion watchers are often quick to identify which designer is being worn by royal family members when they're out on public engagements and appearances, with the same pool of classic British names featured in a dependable rotation.
Since the reign of Queen Victoria, it has been a royal tradition for Britain's queens and princesses to wear mainly British-designed and manufactured pieces. In an effort to boost struggling industries such as lace making and silk weaving, Victoria would have the origin of her clothes (before the death of Prince Albert) reported in the newspapers, setting an example often repeated today.
Though the royals now mainly abide by this patriotic tradition, some of its younger members have branched out to find classic outfits and wardrobe staples from designers in Paris, the world's fashion capital.
As Meghan Markle is no longer a working member of the royal family and has left Britain, she no longer has expectations placed on her to "buy British" when searching for her next big look. Though Meghan did patronize U.K.-based designers after her marriage to Prince Harry in 2018, she became the first royal bride in recent decades to wear a wedding dress that was made and designed in France. She has returned to French design houses regularly ever since.
Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, continues to be one of the British fashion industry's most important patrons, representing designers on a global scale whenever she attends an official event.
Though the majority of the princess' looks are British in origin, Kate, like Meghan, has looked across the English Channel to add key items to her wardrobe from the high-fashion shopping districts of Paris.
Here, Newsweek looks at five of Kate's and Meghan's top French fashion designer moments.
Meghan and Givenchy
Perhaps Meghan's most important French fashion moment came on the day of her wedding, when she walked down the decorated aisle of St. George's Chapel wearing an haute couture design from the house of Givenchy.
Founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy, the house was a favorite of movie star Audrey Hepburn, who wore Givenchy's designs in some of her films, including Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Meghan's boat neck long-line gown with bracelet-length sleeves and abbey-length train was designed by Givenchy's creative director, British-born Clare Waight Keller, and was widely celebrated by the fashion press.
Meghan and Christian Dior
Since her wedding, Meghan has worn haute couture looks from the historic house of Christian Dior, one of the most famous and expensive fashion houses in France and the world.
Christian Dior founded his fashion house in 1947, and the revolutionizing collection was dubbed the "new look" by fashion editor Carmel Snow.
Meghan first wore a royal Dior look two months after her wedding, with an all-black ensemble for the Royal Air Force centenary. She has worn other pieces in the years since, including a black "Lady Dior" handbag that was named after her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, in the 1990s.
Perhaps Meghan's most famous Dior look is her pale-colored coat dress worn to the Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service for Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
The coat dress's design drew on classic English tailoring, based on a vented raincoat and cut to accentuate the figure. The duchess paired the coat with a matching hat, gloves and shoes, all reportedly made by Dior's talented workshop.
Kate and Chanel
Another of Paris' historic fashion houses is Chanel, which was founded in the 1920s by Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, first as a millinery business and then a thriving fashion house.
Chanel was headed by design chief Karl Lagerfeld between 1983 and 2018 and dressed some of the world's most famous women, including Princess Diana.
Kate has worn Chanel pieces during her married life, including a head-to-toe Chanel look for a visit to Paris with Prince William in 2017. Most recently, the princess has worn a favorite vintage Chanel piece from 1995, a blue bouclé tweed jacket with black contrast piping and buttons.
Kate wore the jacket on her recent visit with William to Boston, where the couple attended a basketball game at the TD Garden arena.
Kate and Yves Saint Laurent
Another one of Kate's Paris fashion moments came courtesy of a vintage piece first worn publicly in 2022.
During a visit to the Caribbean in March of that year, the princess debuted a striking coral-colored jacket with box pockets cut along a 1940s silhouette. It was later revealed that the piece was a vintage Yves Saint Laurent jacket that Kate had bought at a vintage shop in Scotland when she was at university over two decades ago.
Saint Laurent studied design in the 1950s before becoming the designer who take over the house of Christian Dior after its founder's death in 1957. Saint Laurent founded his own house in 1961, and it continues today as part of the Kering group.
Kate and Balmain
Kate's most recent—and surprising—Paris fashion moment came courtesy of the Wimbledon tennis championships this month.
For her first visit to the multiday event, Kate wowed in a pistachio green blazer accented with contrasting white lapels and statement buttons.
The jacket was later identified and confirmed to have been made by the house of Balmain.
Pierre Balmain founded his fashion house in 1945. Its aesthetic signature has developed over the years into a label loved by young people and celebrities who are not afraid of bold statement looks.
Kate's jacket, though a new piece, was vintage in its silhouette and style, echoing the fashion choices made by Diana and other royals in the 1980s and early 1990s.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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