10 years of the Kate Effect: How the Duchess became a royal style icon
10 Years of the Kate Effect: How the Duchess Became a Royal Style Icon
She’s the defining royal trendsetter of the social media age, making fashion designers’ fortunes and selling out high-street dresses with every Instagram scroll. How has the Duchess of Cambridge done it and made it look so effortless? Bethan Holt reports.
The Social Media Age and the Duchess
The year 2010 was pivotal—Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, Instagram was born, and Twitter began supporting images. These social media milestones are crucial to understanding how, a decade later, the Duchess of Cambridge became a worldwide style icon.
While there have been trendsetting royal women before her—like Princess Diana, Princess Margaret, and the Queen Mother—timing is everything. The combination of a new Duchess and an increasingly connected social media world created the perfect fashion phenomenon.
Kate’s Fashion Impact
Kate’s fashion influence is undeniable. She has had dresses named after her, set trends, and even prompted London’s V&A Museum to display a pair of her iconic high-street heels. Her style has inspired superfans worldwide and is credited with boosting the British fashion industry by up to $2 billion in a single year.
Richard Ward, the hairdresser who has styled Kate’s hair since her university days, said, “She was destined for that role. She hasn’t put a foot wrong. She has evolved into that role seamlessly—it hasn’t been seamless, but she makes it appear that way.”
The Duchess’s Style: Tradition and Innovation
Kate’s style is a blend of regal continuity and modern freshness. She wears coat dresses by Catherine Walker, glitzy gowns by Jenny Packham, and chic floral shifts by Erdem—all looks that the Queen would surely approve of. But she also rocks skinny jeans, trainers, and Breton tops, creating her signature “Casual Kate” wardrobe. And with her Zara dresses and Massimo Dutti coats, fans can easily click-to-buy her looks.
The Kate Effect
Within weeks of Kate’s engagement to William, the so-called “Kate Effect” was born, referring to her power to make an item sell out and propel a business to new heights. One of the earliest beneficiaries was Reiss, a favorite shop of the Duchess in her twenties.
On the couple’s first royal tour to Canada in 2011, she rewore the label’s Nanette dress for a military ceremony. When Kate and William met then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at Buckingham Palace the same year, she chose the brand’s cappuccino-hued Shola dress.
“From a sales perspective—specifically looking back at the moments Kate wore the Nanette dress and the Shola dress—we were inundated with inquiries and interest,” notes David Reiss, the brand’s founder. “The immediate media attention and press coverage promoting the brand was unbelievable.”
Kate’s Lasting Impact
Ten years on, Kate’s impact hasn’t waned. There are still many examples of her patronage making a huge difference to brands big and small, expensive and affordable.
“The first time the Duchess wore Eponine was a day we will never forget,” says Jet Shenkman, founder of Eponine London. “The phone started ringing within minutes, and orders came through that we could have never dreamt of.”
When Kate wore a red embellished midi dress by Needle & Thread to a reception at Buckingham Palace, it sold out within 24 hours and soon amassed a 700-strong waiting list. And when she appeared on the BBC’s Big Night In, her Ghost dress sold out in 30 minutes, with the brand donating the proceeds to NHS Charities Together.
The Kate Effect can be transformative. When she brought Anita Dongre to global attention in 2016, the Indian designer’s website crashed from the demand. And Aisling O’Brien, founder of Irish jewelry label All the Falling Stars, has been able to give up her day job to concentrate on the brand full-time thanks to Kate’s support.
“When someone like the Duchess of Cambridge wears your brand, it fills you with immense pride,” say Francesca Kelly and Marianna Doyle, founders of Soru, one of Kate’s favorite affordable jewelry labels. “She opened our brand up to the international market and gave us great exposure around the globe.”
For more information, visit the V&A Museum.
