Princess Eugenie picks Peter Pilotto for her big day
Princess Eugenie has picked London label Peter Pilotto to create the dress for her marriage to Jack Brooksbank.
The princess swept up the steps to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor at 11 am local time wearing the long, white dress with a wide V-neck, a fold around the shoulders, a revealing back and a long train.
She chose not to wear a veil, and is wearing the Greville Emerald tiara, designed by Boucheron in 1921. She is carrying a bouquet of wildflowers and Angel’s Breath.
Peter Pilotto is based in London and designed by Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos. The duo launched the label in 2007, and quickly made a name for themselves with their bright, printed and patterned collections.
It was an unusual – but inspired – choice for Eugenie, whom many had expected to choose a traditional wedding dress designer.
Pilotto and De Vos aren’t known for their bridal gowns or even for monochromatic designs. For their spring 2019 collection, they worked a Polynesian fantasy, staging their show at Trader Vic’s tiki bar under the Hilton hotel on Park Lane in London.
They worked a palette of joyously lurid tropical hues, from sunset peach to rainforest green, violet, fuchsia, royal and sky blues, acid yellow, seafoam, vermilion and marigold yellow — all shot through with flashes of gold and silver. Another inspiration for the collection was the work of French Art Nouveau glass artist Émile Gallé.
Eugenie first met the designers when she was co-hosting an event in support of the Artemis Council for Women Artists, and has been wearing designs by the brand for several years.
She and the two designers worked closely on the dress, with Pilotto and De Vos undertaking archive research into previous gowns worn by members of Britain’s royal family.
According to the designers, the dress was developed layer-by-layer starting with the corset and the “complex underskirt.” It features a fitted bodice and full pleated skirt while the neckline folds around the shoulders to a low back that drapes into a flowing, full-length train.
The designers said the low back feature on the dress was at the specific request of Eugenie, who had surgery when she was 12 years old to correct scoliosis.
The fabric was designed by Pilotto and De Vos at their studio in East London and includes a number of symbols that are meaningful to the princess, according to the designers.
The symbols are a thistle for Scotland, a shamrock for Ireland, The York Rose for England. The ivy, represents the couple’s home, Ivy Cottage, on the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Pilotto and De Vos said they reinterpreted those symbols in a garland of rope-like motifs, woven into a jacquard of silk, cotton and viscose blend. Once the artwork was completed, it was translated into a jacquard weave at a mill near Lake Como.
