As patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC)—the organization that hosts the Wimbledon tennis championships each year—all eyes turn to Britain's Princess of Wales to take the fashion lead as she regularly attends the world famous courts and presents prizes to the hard won champions.
Kate has attended Wimbledon regularly since she married Prince William in 2011, and before that would join spectators with her father, Michael Middleton, and sister, Pippa Middleton, to watch the matches on big screens in the grounds.
Since becoming a member of the royal family, Kate's fashion choices have become a regular topic for debate, with some outlets estimating the princess' value to the U.K. economy at over $1 billion thanks to her style influence.
Though in the past the princess has seemed to put extra effort into her Wimbledon wardrobes, this year she took a statement creative decision to color coordinate each look to fit with a particular theme—green.
Here, Newsweek looks at how how Kate packed a fashion punch at the 2023 Wimbledon championships, look-by-look.
French Fashion on Centre Court
For her first Wimbledon visit of 2023, the Princess of Wales made a style statement wearing a retro-inspired blazer in a shade of pistachio green contrasted with white lapels and buttons.
The blazer is unique among Kate's publicly worn wardrobe as it is the first piece she has worn to an official event from the French fashion house of Balmain. Pierre Balmain founded his fashion house in 1945 and in the decades since has been reinvented from a classic couture house into a vibrant youth centered brand headed by creative director, Olivier Rousteing.
Kate's jacket, though new, was retro in its referencing and styling, echoing the fashion choices made by Princess Diana throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Kate paired the blazer with a white pleated skirt and accessorized with her purple and green ribbon, a symbol of her patronage of the AELTC.
Vintage Royal Glamour for Women's Singles Final
For her second visit to the Wimbledon championships of 2023, to watch the women's singles final match between Markéta Vondroušová and Ons Jabeur, Kate opted for another green look, this time in a shade of lime.
"The princess opted for much-loved independent contemporary brand Self-Portrait," royal fashion expert Miranda Holder told Newsweek of the look. "A lime green dress which cleverly had the appearance of a Chanel-esq two-piece, complete with peplum boucle jacket, finished with sparkling buttons, and A-Line chiffon pleated skirt."
"The zesty lime of this look was particularly striking," she said. "And Kate stood out—rather than blended in with the immaculate lawns of centre court."
Signature Kate for Men's Singles Final Family Day Out
For the men's singles final match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, Kate opted for a vibrant green dress, in-keeping with her verdant color pallet for the 2023 events.
"On Sunday, Kate completed her triptych of gorgeous green with a designer, bodycon emerald dress by Roland Mouret," Holder told Newsweek. "The look was signature Kate, a simple, well-tailored silhouette with asymmetrical ruching adding interest to the bodice and an eye-catching bow detail on one shoulder. The princess finished the look with similar accessories as the day before—some nude suede stilettos (a reference to fashion habits of the past) adding unnecessary but always welcome leg length, whilst still feeling daytime appropriate thanks to the finish of the leather and a coordinating bag from Emmy London, proving that matchy matchy is still very much en vogue in royal circles, no matter what the fashionistas are saying elsewhere."
The look wasn't a complete success however, with quite substantial creasing drawing the eye during the trophy presentations, something Kate has been careful in the past to avoid.
Future Queen in Green
Why Kate opted to wear green for all of her Wimbledon visits this year is as yet unknown, however, the royal has displayed a newfound love for the color over the past 12 months.
There have been a number of key green looks in Kate's working wardrobe this year, most prominently being the Andrew Gn coat dress worn by the princess to this year's Trooping the Colour in London, a replica of which has subsequently been donated to a retrospective exhibition of the designer's work at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore.
"This recent green color palette comes hot on the heels of a number of pink looks we enjoyed last month, all worn consecutively for maximum effect, including a sparkling gown at the Royal Wedding in Jordan," Holder explained.
"There has been a lot of speculation as to why Kate has started to theme her wardrobe by color and from my celebrity stylists viewpoint the reasons are simple. Dressing in similar colors for a group of royal appointments makes the princess more iconic, even more recognizable, and in doing so, reinforces her personal brand.
"Having a color theme also helps to punctuate her many public appearances, naturally sorting them into groups and viewing these stylistically much like a theatrical production, with a distinct beginning, middle and end—it's a tried and tested strategy that many celebrities use for big events and it's a powerful style tactic. It also makes the photographs look more harmonious when they are being looked back upon."
On why green specifically was chosen for the Wimbledon events, Holder suggested that it was an "unadulterated celebration of the most famous and iconic event in lawn tennis," whose club colors are green and purple.
Correction 7/24/23, 4:12 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to clarify that the Andrew Gn coat dress on display at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore is a replica of the version worn by Kate, and was not loaned by the Princess of Wales.
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.
Uncommon Knowledge
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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
