Kate Middleton wore a sheer knitted mesh garment designed by fellow student Charlotte Todd at a St Andrews student charity fashion show in 2002. Todd later said she had made it as a skirt, and that others pulled it up on Middleton so it could be worn as a dress. The garment sold at auction in 2011 for a reported £78,000. The story that the catwalk moment immediately began Middleton’s romance with Prince William is less certain.
What Kate Middleton wore at the 2002 show
The event was “The Art of Seduction,” a student charity fashion show held on 26 March 2002 at the St Andrews Bay Hotel, according to British Vogue. Middleton wore a sheer, strapless knitted mesh garment with blue trim and black underwear. The auction catalogue described its ground as gold-and-black knitted silk and its hem as peacock blue.
It was designed by Charlotte Todd, then a fellow student at St Andrews. Todd had made the piece for a fashion and textiles project at the University of the West of England. Contemporary accounts reported that it cost £30 to make.
Why it was originally a skirt
Todd said she had not chosen Middleton as a model or known who she was. “I didn’t know who Kate Middleton was and I didn’t put her in it,” she told Vogue. The garment had been made as a skirt; Todd said others pulled it up on Middleton, who wore it as a dress: “It was just pure chance. I made it as a skirt, but others pulled it up on Kate and she wore it as a dress.”
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Did the fashion show start Middleton and William’s romance?
The familiar story that William saw Middleton on the catwalk and immediately fell for her is not established as fact. Vogue reports that the two were still seeing other people and regarded one another as friends at the time of the show. Friends later recalled that the event affected how William saw Middleton, but the often-repeated “Wow, Kate’s hot” line is described as a long-standing rumour, not a confirmed quote.
Accounts of what happened at the after-party also differ: some describe William kissing Middleton’s hand, while others recount a more direct approach that she rebuffed. Vogue says they began dating some months later. These recollections do not prove that the runway appearance itself started their relationship.
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What happened to the original garment
Kerry Taylor Auctions sold the garment at its Passion for Fashion sale at La Galleria in London on 17 March 2011. It had been estimated at £10,000 and reportedly sold for £78,000. The Independent’s contemporaneous report says that total included a £13,000 buyer’s premium; Vogue reported that the buyer was a collector from Jersey. After the sale, Todd said, “I am totally speechless, and feel very emotional.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How The Crown changed the story for the screen
The Crown dramatized the catwalk episode rather than documenting it scene for scene. Vogue reports that costume designer Amy Roberts said the recreation used different fabrics and ribbon thread while keeping the sheer, strapless silhouette. The screen costume should therefore be distinguished from Todd’s original garment.
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Sources: British Vogue, 14 December 2023; British Vogue, 18 March 2011; The Independent / Agence France-Presse, 18 March 2011. The material and hem details are attributed to the Kerry Taylor Auctions 2011 lot catalogue.
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