Which couturier has been picked to create Meghan Markle’s wedding dress is the biggest question in the fashion world. And now a royal insider may have revealed the answer.
‘Meghan has chosen Ralph & Russo,’ the source claims.
If the well-placed informant is correct, the decision by Prince Harry’s bride to select a British brand would provide a welcome boost for this country’s fashion industry.
The American former actress’s decision would also prove lucrative for bookies who stopped taking bets on Alexander McQueen last month after being ‘inundated’ with punts on the fashion house, which created Kate Middleton’s satin and lace bridal gown in 2011.
Which couturier has been picked to create Meghan Markle’s wedding dress is the biggest question in the fashion world. And now a royal insider may have revealed the answer
Based in a seven-storey Mayfair salon overlooking the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Ralph & Russo was the first British fashion house to be invited to the Paris couture shows in a century.
With prices starting at £30,000 and customers admitted by appointment only, it could provide the expected combination of royal elegance and Hollywood glamour.
It specialises in elaborate couture dresses studded with crystals, feathers, iridescent metallic features and floor-sweeping trains.
Adored by A-list Americans such as Beyonce and Gwyneth Paltrow, Ralph & Russo made the skirt suit that Angelina Jolie wore to accept her honorary damehood from the Queen in 2014.
Meghan, 36, has already demonstrated her fondness for the duo’s hand-made creations by wearing a daring transparent gown in her official engagement photos.
Priced at a staggering £55,980, the outfit comprised a silk organza skirt, hand appliqued with silk tulle ruffles, and a sheer bodice decorated with intricate gold feather thread-work and beads.
Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo were both born in Australia but founded their business with only a sewing machine and an ironing board in London in 2007
Known as couture’s coolest couple, Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo were both born in Australia but founded their business with only a sewing machine and an ironing board in London in 2007.Tamara, who is the same age as Meghan, is the daughter and granddaughter of Sydney couturiers. She met Michael, then a financial consultant in London, on her first day on holiday in the capital in 2003.
They fell in love and began a long-distance relationship when she returned to Australia. After a year or so, Michael, now 38, phoned to say he’d bought her a flight to London, adding: ‘It’s one-way — you leave next week.’
‘So, the next week I packed up and moved,’ says Tamara.
‘Then I said: “OK, I’m here, what will I do?” ’ Michael told her: ‘I’ve thought about that. And I’ve bought you a sewing machine.’
Said to be growing by 400 per cent a year, the brand was given a nine-figure valuation when Phones4U billionaire John Caudwell bought 7 per cent of it in 2014.
One thing certain is that the gown Meghan wears at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, will be infinitely more intricate — and expensive — than her wedding dress when she married her first husband, American film producer Trevor Engelson, in 2011.
Then, she opted for a white bohemian-style, strapless floor-length gown with a notch neckline. It was, however, in keeping with the laid-back feel of the ceremony, held on a beach in Jamaica.
A Ralph & Russo spokesman tells me: ‘We will be politely declining to comment on this topic.’ And Kensington Palace officials were similarly discreet.
The smart set’s talking about …Lord Bristol’s new fiancee
After inheriting the aristocracy’s most toxic title from his drug-addled brother, the Marquess of Bristol declared that he planned to rebuild the family fortune.
Now, Frederick Bristol has the perfect woman to help him restore his dynasty. I can reveal that Fred, the 38-year-old brother of reality TV star Lady Victoria Hervey, pictured together above, is to marry a glamorous American art consultant, Meredith Dunn, left.
‘The wedding will take place in May,’ one of his friends tells me. ‘Meredith is very intelligent and sensible, so will be a great asset to his family.’
Frederick Bristol has the perfect woman to help him restore his dynasty. I can reveal that Fred, the 38-year-old brother of reality TV star Lady Victoria Hervey, pictured together above, is to marry a glamorous American art consultant, Meredith Dunn, left
She’s a brave woman joining the Bristol clan. Fred’s father, Victor, a thrice married playboy known as The Reptile, was jailed for jewel theft and had a brief career as an arms dealer.
Frederick’s half-brother, John, squandered £30 million on drugs, lost the family seat, Ickworth House in Suffolk, and died aged 44. Another half-brother, Lord Nicholas Hervey, hanged himself after battling depression.
Fred pledged to his father that he would never try drugs. ‘I kept my promise,’ he said, adding: ‘Having two brothers who died made me very aware of how finite life is.’ Fred, who launched property business Brickowner last year, added: ‘I’m not going to be pressured into doing anything just because it’s expected of me.’
Flamboyant, lilac-haired Dame Edna Everage revels in behaving outrageously, but would she welcome being a grandmother?
Her creator, comedian Barry Humphries, 84, is to have a new grandchild, as Sophie Oakley, who is engaged to his son Oscar, is expecting their first child.
‘The little girl we made is due on September 5,’ reveals fine-art dealer Oscar. Hopefully, the baby will help bring about a reconciliation between Oscar and his father.
Last year, Oscar declared he was dropping his illustrious surname because he was so angry at being ‘disinherited’.
M&S model Rosie does a Demi Moore
Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is very pleased to show off her curves while she was pregnant. To celebrate International Women’s Day, the 30-year-old Marks & Spencer mannequin has shared this naked snap while she was expecting her son Jack
Usually required to be stick-thin, lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is very pleased to show off her curves while she was pregnant.
To celebrate International Women’s Day, the 30-year-old Marks & Spencer mannequin has shared this naked snap while she was expecting her son Jack, born last summer.
Striking a pose reminiscent of actress Demi Moore’s 1991 Vanity Fair cover, she sports nothing but the £243,000 sparkler given to her by her fiance, the Hollywood hardman Jason Statham.