The first woman to head Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller is also the only designer at the house to have met the founder, Hubert de Givenchy, who passed away earlier this year. Only the second woman to lead a major LVMH house (alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri at Dior), Waight Keller was appointed in May last year, five months after Tisci’s departure. Starting as a stylist for Calvin Klein, Waight Keller joined the womenswear studio at Gucci, before moving to Pringle as artistic director in 2006.
She was named Designer of the Year in 2007 by the Scottish Fashion Awards in recognition of her work. In 2011, she accepted the artistic directorship role at Chloé in Paris, and there honed a feminine style that proved a success with customers. Now at Givenchy, she is responsible for ready-to-wear, couture and, of course, the wedding dress of the year.
Watch what the designer has to say about the dress in the videos below.
Clare Waight Keller on how the collaboration came about:
On the process from sketch to final scale:
On working with Meghan Markle, the veil boys and Prince Harry's reaction to the outfit:
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Read more:
[ Dressing the royal bride: the inspiration behind Meghan Markle's dress, veil, jewellery and shoes ]
[ Hubert de Givenchy: Remembering the master of 'the little black dress' ]
[ The rise of the female creative director ]
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