5 Ways Royals Shaped Fashion

From politics to religion to diplomacy, royalty across history has wielded an inordinate level of influence. Fashion is no exception. Royals’ choices—some ceremonial displays of wealth and power, others merely their own eccentric stylings—have shaped the aesthetic tastes of their time. Whether it be as mundane as a pair of pumps worn by Kate Middleton becoming a hot commodity, or as impactful as Queen Victoria’s precedent-defining white wedding gown, the influence royalty has exerted over fashion and style is almost impossible to understate.   

1. Madame de Pompadour’s Pompadour 
2. The “Kate Effect”
3. Kente Cloth
4. Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress”
5. Queen Victoria’s Wedding White and Mourning Black

Madame de Pompadour’s Pompadour 

Madame de Pompadour, perhaps best remembered for her eponymous, towering hairstyle, was a hugely influential member of the French royal court and chief mistress to King Louis XV from 1745 until 1751. Lauded for her charm and wit, she was a stalwart patron of the arts who hosted regular salons attended by some of the foremost figures in the French Enlightenment movement, including Voltaire and Montesquieu. Pompadour met the French king at a masked ball at the Palace of Versailles; he became enamored with the young aristocrat and invited her to live in an apartment directly above his own just a month later.   

Pompadour was granted the title of Marquise and officially joined the French royal court in September 1745. She quickly became both the king and court’s favorite. Pompadour began wielding immense political and social influence, all while solidifying herself as a pioneer in the opulent Rococo art movement through her support of artists like Jean-Marc Nattier and Jacques Guay. Even after her tenure as the king’s chief mistress came to a close in 1751, Pompadour remained a close friend and confidante to the king until her death from tuberculosis in 1764. 

Though the hairstyle for which she is known certainly originated well before her time in the French court, its ubiquity with the French noblewoman’s visage is a testimony to her enduring influence on art and style.   

The “Kate Effect”

What innumerable media outlets have fittingly dubbed “the Kate effect” refers to a fashion phenomenon surrounding the styling choices of the Princess of Wales. Even seemingly innocuous or stylistically uninspired pieces of clothing she wears often sells out at an almost alarming rate. From gowns made by designers like Jenny Packham and Alexander McQueen to simple black tees from fast fashion retailers like Zara, the Kate effect knows no economic bounds. 

Since catapulting to international recognition following her engagement to Prince William in 2010, the Princess of Wales’s fashion habits have generated a reported £1 billion in sales annually.  Though (unsurprisingly) much of her wardrobe is eye-wateringly expensive to the average person, Kate has been known to use her choices in style as a sort of covert communication tool, plugging or inconspicuously promoting sustainable or social conscious brands like Monica Vinader and Beulah. 

Kente Cloth

The Kente cloth—which originated in the town of Bonwire in Ghana’s Ashanti Region—is a woven article of clothing traditionally worn by royalty or high-ranking members of the Ghanaian state to denote their wealth and status. Though its use was originally reserved for Asante royalty, it has since spread across the African diaspora, becoming a symbol of heritage and pride people wear for special occasions like graduations and weddings. The Kente cloth’s vibrant colors and striking pattern are said to be inspired by the weaving of Anansi, a Ghanaian folk figure typically depicted as a spider. But they have since taken on a symbology of their own. Ghanaian weavers are able to use varying shades and designs to customize the garment to reflect its wearer. 

The Kente cloth came to broader attention in 2020 after leaders of the Democratic Party were criticized for donning the ceremonial garb in a misguided protest against systemic racism. Conversely, luxury fashion designers like the late Virgil Abloh (whose grandmother was Ghanaian) have integrated the Kente cloth into their collections as a proud nod to their heritage.

Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress”

Shortly after Prince Charles admitted to cheating on her in an internationally televised documentary for ITV, Princess Diana of Wales donned the now-prototypical “revenge dress” when she attended a June 1994 fundraising dinner hosted by Vanity Fair magazine at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. Designer Christina Stambolian creation—a black, form fitting, off-the-shoulder evening gown—was inspired by the black swan in composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s seminal ballet Swan Lake. Diana had initially declined her invitation to the event; she later decided to attend and make a statement after Charles’s comments during the ITV documentary hit the British press. 

Without even uttering a word, Diana had completely transformed the public narrative around her and Charles’s separation with one single outfit. Eschewing the royal tradition of modest, high necklines and an avoidance of black attire outside of mourning, Diana had turned her little black dress into an act of feminine rebellion against stifling royal code. The Princess of Wales’s once seemingly innocuous choice of attire gave rise to the popular concept of “revenge dressing” and became one of her most memorable looks.

Queen Victoria’s Wedding White and Mourning Black

White wedding dresses have since become an almost ubiquitous part of many couple’s nuptials. But this customary choice of color did not become the norm until Queen Victoria’s wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840, where she donned a cream-colored gown complete with finely crafted lace detailing. Queen Victoria’s choice of color was quickly adopted by fellow members of the aristocracy and even generated a cottage industry for lace production. While many assume the then-20-year-old queen’s choice of attire was intended to reflect her chastity, Victoria’s primary motivation was simply to highlight the dress’s ornately designed lace applique. 

Queen Victoria also brought funerary black into vogue. After her husband died in 1861, the queen spent the remaining 40 years of her life dressing exclusively in black. While black attire had for many years been a staple of mourning, Queen Victoria’s strict adherence to the custom led to funerary attire becoming much more ritualized and codified across Victorian England.

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