It’s been five years since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry said “I do” at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, and her Givenchy wedding gown still has Us swooning.
U.K. fashion designer Clare Waight Keller – the brains behind the whimsical creation — shared new details about the timeless piece, including how the Duchess of Sussex, now 42, put a “creative twist” on her “something blue.”
Keller told Vanity Fair in an interview published on Friday, August 25, that she and Meghan “snipped” a piece of fabric from the frock she wore on her first date with Harry, now 38, in July 2016. (The two met up at Soho House at 76 Dean Street in London.)
“We basically sewed it into the hem of the wedding dress, so she was the only one that knew it was there,” Keller told the publication. “It was a little blue gingham check. It was the perfect personal memento that was secretly hidden inside the dress.”
The designer also revealed that Meghan’s gown paid homage to Hollywood and fashion royalty, which was especially important to Meghan as an American marrying into a monarchy.
“She always loved Audrey Hepburn,” Keller told Vanity Fair, adding that the Givenchy wedding dress the late star donned in the 1957 film Funny Face inspired Meghan’s own open neckline and “small, rounded, neat shoulder” construction on her big day.
Meghan was also influenced by the silk dress the late Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy wore when she wed John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996 before their tragic deaths in 1999. “Both of us also loved Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and the fact that she surprised everyone with the simplicity of what she wore,” Keller explained.
She continued, “[Meghan] wanted to bring some simplicity and just timeless elegance. Not overly feminine, but not really minimal either. That effortless American style, where it just feels really fresh and personal. But it’s not overwhelming. It’s not specific to any particular decade.” Keller added that the simplicity of the gown “really represented” Markle’s spirit of “modernity” and “freshness.”
Us Weekly previously reported that it took Keller and the Givenchy team 3,900 hours to create the gown, which also included a 16-foot veil with flora from every commonwealth nation. Additionally, flowers from California and Kensington Palace were included as a nod to Meghan’s birthplace and Harry’s home.
Since tying the knot, Meghan and Harry have stepped down as working members of the royal family and currently reside in California. The couple share son Prince Archie, 4, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 2.
