Royal Roundup: Kate’s Style Reaches Across the Pond

Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton‘s influence has crossed the Atlantic. At New York’s fashion week, many designers seem to have found inspiration in Middleton’s look, the Wall Street Journal reports. Her clothes are desirable “because what she wears is…stylish, slightly conservative and classic,” said Robert Burke, president of a New York-based luxury goods consulting firm. Rachel Roy, who designed the gray dress Michelle Obama wore to the State of the Union address, admires Kate’s “effortless ease, the quiet, confident glamour she is bringing [that] is so modern.”

In other royal news:

- Just as there was not a fairytale ending for Prince Charles and Diana, there was no fairytale ending for the couple who designed Diana’s wedding dress, Elizabeth and David Emanuel, BBC News reports. The designers had only been out of college for a year when they were summoned to make the royal wedding gown in 1981. Despite being inundated with offers, their private and business affairs soured. The couple split in 1990. Elizabeth went bankrupt, even losing the rights to her own name. Eventually, she staged a comeback, designing clothes for the likes of Liz Hurley. “I cannot believe the number of requests I have had to talk to the media,” Elizabeth says. “It is almost like the first time around except this time I can talk to them…”

- BBC News Magazine correspondent Jon Kelly considers the implications of William choosing Harry, his younger brother, as his best man. By selecting Harry, William avoided the potentially sticky situation of picking one of his close friends over another. And, with only one sibling, William’s choice was even easier. (The same logic applies to Kate, whose only sibling – and maid of honor – is her younger sister, Pippa.) But since the best man traditionally gives a speech at the wedding reception, “royal-watchers will be intrigued to see how Harry handles the task of delivering a speech…that avoids making the headlines for the wrong reasons.”

- William, a search and rescue helicopter pilot, has chosen the familiar for an outing with Kate next Thursday (February 24). The couple will travel to Treaddur Bay to launch a new lifeboat for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, BBC News reports. The charity operates 444 lifeboats with volunteer crews. They rescued an average of 22 people per day in 2009. William’s work gives added importance to the visit, said Christopher Pritchard, senior helmsman. “We also welcome him as a colleague who works with us to save lives at sea,” he said.