The Duchess of Cambridge is revered for her classic style, from elegant royal gowns to her affordable high-street picks - but have you ever wondered what she wears to private special occasions?
HELLO!'s editor-in-chief Rosie Nixon caught up with Needle & Thread founder Hannah Coffin during an Instagram Live in 2020, and she revealed that Kate has a secret collection of gorgeous party dresses.
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Kate has a collection of Needle & Thread dresses that the public hasn't seen
Speaking of the royal's surprise outing wearing the brand's glittering Aurora dress back in January, she revealed: "We knew that the Duchess had this dress among others… and you know, she wears us privately, so we didn't know if she was just having a private event or whatever. So we didn't actually know if she was going to be wearing it and which of the dresses she would wear."
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SHOP SIMILAR: Sequin Ribbon Ballerina Dress, £410, Needle & Thread
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We wonder which other Needle & Thread buys Kate has in her wardrobe! Could it be the beautiful multi-embellished number that Princess Beatrice also owns? Or perhaps the stunning striped 'Shirley' ribbon dress, with those fabulous puff sleeves she's known to love? We'd certainly love to see her in either.
Shirley dress, £550, Needle & Thread @ Selfridges
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Hannah also opened up about her relationship with the Duchess, revealing that her team sends the dresses to Kate's assistants - and that the royal is "very hands-on" in the process.
WATCH: Rosie's interview with Needle & Thread founder Hannah
And following the sell-out success of Kate's dress, Hannah also announced that she has launched an adorable mini version for her childrenswear range - so perhaps Princess Charlotte even has her own sparkly frock!
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The fashion founder said: "It is a mini Duchess dress, yeah! It was just that style - actually the style that the Duchess wore was a bestselling style for us even before she wore it - and now obviously it's an iconic style for us. So it the first natural thing was to put that into childrenswear for a mini-me look."
Mini 'Aurora' dress, £275, Needle & Thread
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Speaking of the 'Kate effect' on her company, she added: "The stars had just aligned as we had actually had a big reorder of that style come in about four days beforehand.
And it just so happened that the Duchess wore us, we had stock and lots of different sizes, and within 24 hours the whole lot was gone. We had a waiting list and I think within about 24 to 36 hours we had about 700 or 800 people waiting. She just has the most phenomenal impact on brands."
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