One of the dress makers behind the the Duchess of Cambridge's iconic wedding gown has opened up about creating the stunning dress, and the level of secrecy surrounding it. Mandy Ewing was part of the team who created the bespoke lace on the gown for the royal's wedding on 2011, and described making the dress as a "once in a lifetime opportunity".
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Chatting about the gown following the Duchess of Cornwall's visit to the Royal School of Needlework (RSN), Mandy said: "We knew who it was for, but it was very secret - we had net curtains up and cleaners were not allowed into the room and the code on the door was changed. The dress was all in the news, but nobody knew who was doing it. When you're working you just focus on it and try not think about what's in the news. But it was an exciting event and everybody loved working on it - it was a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Mandy spoke about Kate's gown
Kate's dress, along with her shoes and veil, were designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, and was made up of intricate lace motifs, some the size of five pence pieces, to make the stunning creation. During her visit to the school, Camilla, who took over the RSN patronage from the Queen in January, tried to embroider herself before joking that she would "leave it to the experts".
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Sarah Burton previously opened up about creating the gown to the New York Times Style magazine, explaining: "I loved making the dress, I loved adapting my ideas to suit the person and the occasion, and we put our hearts into it. I respect the intimate nature of that lovely project and I respect the friendships that were forged during it... an instinctive, intelligent, imaginative young woman's wish for a beautiful wedding dress — or any kind of dress — is the most natural thing in the world."
