Kate Middleton Chose to Wear a Vampire's Wife Dress for Her Royal Portrait With Prince William
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When Kate Middleton stepped out in a shimmery green frock from the Vampire's Wife in March 2020, the fashion crowd was quick to praise her choice. British Vogue proclaimed it a "major moment in royal dressing"; the Evening Standard said she'd bid "adieu to sartorial safeness." Fast forward two years, the emerald dress continues to make headlines. And most recently, today, when the first official joint portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was unveiled, and in the photo, Kate is wearing the stylish number.
March 2020 may have been the Duchess's first time wearing the Vampire's Wife, but she has since turned to the brand for other engagements, including at a formal reception in Belize where she opted for a shimmering pink gown. It's also proven to be a favorite of fellow royal Princess Beatrice, who has at least three of the brand's dresses —two of which she's been known to rewear. And at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 wedding, three separate guests could be seen wearing markedly similar garments from the independent label.
The Vampire's Wife is the rare brand to be embraced by those from the upper echelons of both fashion and royal circles—though based solely on its origin story, it's a little surprising that it managed to infiltrate the latter.
It was co-founded by Susie Cave (née Bick), a late '80s it-girl and former model for the likes of Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Vivienne Westwood. You may have also heard of her husband, Nick Cave (yes, the Prince of Darkness one). She hit on the label's signature look—a high-necked maxi dress with ruffled accents, often described as a glammed-up prairie dress—when she need something different for parties with Nick.
"When I go out with him, I can have a lot of social anxiety, and I never really knew what to wear," Cave once explained to Vogue. So she began designing clothes that would give her confidence. "I overemphasize the female form; the waist, the shoulders—making them quite big so you feel quite strong—but in very simple [shapes] so you’re not fussy."
It worked—first for Cave, and after she and business parter created the Vampire's Wife in 2014, for the brand's ever-growing cadre of devotees. And the brand's success is credited to its highly wearable, always flattering silhouettes—but even more clever is how the frocks the line between edgy and modest.
The Vampire's Wife wins over fashion-forward fans like Kate Moss, Ruth Negga, and Kristen Dunst with its creative, gothic side. The luxe fabrics and floor-skimming hemlines read as darkly romantic—ideal for a bloodsucker's alluring companion. And then there's Cave herself, her quiet demeanor and raven-black hair embodying a certain Victorian macabre aesthetic; her disparate inspirations, from poetry penned by Gwendolyn Brooks and Shu Chi'i-siang to muses like Mary Shelley and Isabella Rossellini, are compiled on the Vampire's Wife website, lending cultural credibility to the product on offer.
It's cool, but not avant-garde—and vintage-inspired, but not dowdy. For the royal and royal-adjacent, that's a hard-to-pass-on combo. As a future queen, Kate's whole life is about balancing tradition and modernity, her style included. She hasn't gone all-in on Queen Elizabeth's matching coats, dresses, and hats, but the Duchess hasn't been known as an out-there trendsetter, either. When she wore the "Falconetti" dress from the Vampire's Wife, it may have read to the fashion crowd as an in-the-know choice—and it's entirely possible that she enjoyed being associated with a smaller, trendy label—but it also wasn't a far leap from the monochrome sheaths she's worn so often before.
When Princess Beatrice steps out in the label, it serves a similar purpose. Not only does she apparently feel great in Cave's clothes ("Thank you, your dress gave me so much confidence and I felt so good and empowered wearing the dress," Cave said Beatrice wrote her), but the floral print and sensible neckline fit in at Queen's annual Garden Party.
Cave wasn't thinking about the royal family in mind when she started her line, but she may have created their perfect brand. Shop the Duchess of Cambridge's green dress and similar styles below.
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