As the world watched Princess Eugenie wed Jack Brooksbank on Friday afternoon, the world gasped over her stunning wedding dress. Designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos, who founded the British based label Peter Pilotto in London in 2007, it was a bold - and brave - move for the Princess. Why? Because the designers had never designed a wedding dress before. That’s right - this was their first foray into bridal, and we think you’ll agree, they smashed it.
It was a similar tale for Princess Diana. At the time, the Princess of Wales going with the less-experienced and lesser-known Emanuels was something of a surprise - they’d only been in business for seven years! Her dress—seen by over 700 million people worldwide—was made of ivory silk, pure taffeta and antique lace, with 10,000 pearls and sequins, and had a 25ft train. Designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel became an internationally-known name and continued to design dresses for the Princess. He and Elizabeth, who have two children together, divorced in 1990.
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Peter Pilotto is certainly a well known brand amongst fashionistas and A-list celebrities like Emma Watson and Olivia Palermo, but now they’ll be household names thanks to their extravagant bridal gown. The 10-year-old brand is known for its innovative textile design, paired with a modern feminine silhouette. Princess Eugenie has been friends with the designers for quite some time, and has worn their designs for previous engagements, but this is certainly the biggest - and the best!
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Princess Eugenie met the designers when she was co hosting an event in support of the Artemis Council for Women Artists. Looking through the archives, the London-based pair researched previous dresses worn by other royals and identified a silhouette perfect for their client. As per Eugenie’s request, the dress features a low back because she wanted to show off the scar on her back which she got after having surgery when she was 12 to correct scoliosis.
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On Eugenie’s dress, there are a number of symbols that are meaningful to Princess Eugenie as motifs. The symbols are a Thistle for Scotland, The Shamrock for Ireland, The York Rose for England and The Ivy representing the couple's home. On Diana's dress, she too had subtle details such as a small blue bow sewn into the waistband of her dress to signify luck.
Following Princess Diana’s wedding, demand for the Emanuels’ skyrocketed, but they insisted on keeping their operation small, believing that otherwise, “the dresses will lose their magic.”
Will it be a similar case with Peter Pilotto? We suspect so.