Only a handful of insiders know which designer Kate Middleton has chosen to create her wedding gown, but at least one person understands what her dressmaker is going through. Elizabeth Emanuel co-designed the taffeta confection Princess Diana wore when she married Prince Charles in 1981 and is certain that Middleton's mystery designer is more than a little anxious as the April 29 royal wedding date.
"I'm sure they are nervous now," said Emanuel, relaxed and chatty in her central London studio, surrounded by mannequins wearing dramatic handmade wedding gowns. "It's such a big event with billions watching; you cannot make mistakes. There is no second chance; it has to be perfect.
Emanuel and her ex-husband, David, triumphed in their own pressure-packed moment, coming up with a show-stopping gown that transformed Diana from a little-known nursery school teacher into a glamorous princess.
The dress was groundbreaking for its tight bodice, cinched waist and what seemed like metres and metres of taffeta, silk and lace. Rosemary Harden, director of the Fashion Museum in Bath, England, said the dress set trends throughout the globe.
'Fairy princess dress': "It definitely set the tone for 15 to 20 years," said Harden. "It was something everyone remarked upon — it took people's breath away. It was the archetypal fairy princess dress, with an incredible quantity of beautiful fabric and beautiful silk — and that long train."
Harden said the tight bodice, puffed sleeves and very full skirt Diana favoured eventually fell out of style as strapless wedding gowns came in, and she believes styles will change again once Middleton's dress is unveiled.
There have been leaks suggesting that Sarah Burton, creative director of the Alexander McQueen house, is designing the dress, but she has denied the reports — though some believe she may be covering up her involvement to maintain secrecy. Middleton, with her long, lean figure, has likely chosen a classic design with some distinctive "edgy" detailing or feature to make the gown memorable, Emanuel predicted.
She thinks Middleton might wear her long hair swept up while other fashion figures have suggested Middleton should let it cascade to her shoulders as it usually does. The designer, whose long career has encompassed making outfits for stage and screen, does not expect Middleton's dress to resemble Diana's.
Very different brides: The two brides are very different: Diana was still very young when she married, and she had not yet plunged into the fashion world. Middleton is 29 and has developed her own style, which emphasizes her slender figure, pale skin and dark brown hair.
Fashions have changed as well, with softer fabrics like tulle and organza more popular in gowns than the stiffer taffeta used in Diana's dress. There also might be fewer frills and less volume in the skirt.
"It was perfect for the '80s but not for today," Emanuel said of her most famous work, which is often on public display at Althorp House, Diana's ancestral home, or touring museums throughout the world.
Emmanuel said there were endless fittings with the incredible shrinking bride: Diana lost so much weight in the weeks before the ceremony that the designers had to make several successively smaller bodices. She had a 23-inch waist by her wedding day.
She remembers reporters constantly begging her for information, making up sob stories about how they would be fired if they didn't find out details about the dress. That was in the quaint, pre-internet era. Today, Emanuel said, the pressure is even more intense and the need for secrecy even more urgent because anyone with a camera phone could flummox the palace's best-laid plans if they get a shot of Middleton entering a design salon for a gown fitting.
"It's got to be a surprise; that's the whole thing," Emanuel said. "Bit by bit, all the details of the wedding are being released, and that's the last thing, and everyone wants to know."