The dress, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, is expected to become one of the capital's biggest tourist draws.
Possible venues include the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace, which open to the public in the summer, or Hampton Court Palace, where a team from the Royal School of Needlework helped in its creation.
The Victoria & Albert Museum, which has a world-renowned fashion department, is also a consideration.
A Clarence House spokesman said: "The Duchess of Cambridge is considering a number of options to give members of the public the opportunity to see, close-up, the skilled British craftsmanship that went into the making of her wedding dress by Sarah Burton and her team as well as the Royal School of Needlework."
The ivory satin bridal gown, with a fitted bodice and nine-foot train, was decorated by hand with lace appliqué flowers.
It was made amid such secrecy that the lacemakers from the Royal School of Needlework were not told the identity of the designer, lest it leak out.According to one report, they were not told that the project was a royal commission, believing that the dress was destined for a television period drama.
The large team - aged from 19 to 70-something - comprised staff, tutors and graduates from the school, alongside students from Britain, Japan, the US, China, Switzerland, Holland, Thailand, Germany and Slovakia.
Conditions were so stringent that the embroiderers were required to wash their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours. The lace designs were applied to the delicate net background with fine cord-like thread and minute stitches. To maintain a flawless appearance, no securing knots were used.
Anne Butcher, 44, from Sandhurst, Berks, was one of the seamstresses. "We've all enjoyed the experience. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance," she said.
The team did not meet the bride-to-be but Susan Kay-Williams, the school's chief executive, said: "We understand that the Duchess had a great part to play in [the design] and we would love it if she would come to see our work some time, accompanied by the Duke, of course."
The dress won high praise from couture designers. Karl Lagerfeld hailed it as "elegant and classic", while Valentino described it as "very simple and young" but with a nod to Grace Kelly's 1956 bridal gown. Christian Lacroix said of the Duchess: "She never was so beautiful."
It is expected that the gown will pass to the Royal ceremonial dress collection, which houses costumes from the 18th century to the present day. It includes the wedding dresses of Queen Victoria and Princess Margaret.
The Queen's wedding dress, designed by Norman Hartnell, was last displayed in 2007 as part of a special Buckingham Palace exhibition to mark the sovereign's 60th wedding anniversary.
The wedding dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1981 is exhibited Althorp, family seat of the Spencer family, each summer. It is also taken out on tour, most recently to Kansas City, Missouri where it drew over 1,000 visitors per day.
Within hours of Friday's wedding, copies of the Duchess's dress were being rolled out. In the Chinese city of Suzhou, home to hundreds of garment factories, teams of tailors began running up cut-price versions which will sell for as little as £70.
The US is also cashing in, with one New York-based brand planning to have a $2,000 (£1,200) copy on the market within eight weeks. The company, Faviana, specialises in replicating dresses worn by celebrities, from Jennifer Aniston to Sarah Jessica Parker. However, head designer Shala Moradi said: "This is going to exceed by far any order that we've done."
Pippa Middleton, the maid of honour, proved a fashion hit in her white column dress which was also designed by Sarah Burton. Fashion experts predicted that it would become one of the most requested designs for brides marrying in the next 12 months.
.jpg)
0 Yorumlar