Exclusive reported by Yvonne Yorke for Huffington Post, Sophie Cranston is believed to be the royal wedding dress designer. It's been reported that three dresses by three different designers had been commissioned in case the name of her choice is leaked.
Through to her insider sources, the royal wedding dress designer is a young and relatively unknown British woman. At the time, everyone else was certain that Bruce Oldfield was the chosen designer. The relentless media speculation then moved on to a host of other names such as Alice Temperley, and even Victoria Beckham, before settling on front-runner Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen.
Catherine's wedding dress is near-completion and with less than two weeks to go, there's indication that the designer's identity might soon be revealed, anyway. It's also likely that there is more than one dress made (by the same designer), much like Princess Diana's dressmakers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who had a "back-up" dress in case something happened to the first one.
34-year-old Cranston is young but certainly not short on talent.Cranston won the Designer of the Year Award at London's Graduate Fashion Week in 1999 and then went on to hone her design skills under the tutelage of Alexander McQueen before going into business with Alice Temperley to create the Temperley label in 2000. A couple of years later, Cranston left for Andalusia, Spain to pursue her interest in flamenco and her time at Costa La Luz inspired her to create her own label Libélula, which means dragonfly in Spanish. The line is known for its feminine, figure-flattering silhouettes, luxurious fabrics, and vibrant use of colors and prints. There is also a small ready-to-wear and bespoke bridal collection, according to her website.
So far, every designer that has been tipped as the royal wedding dressmaker has denied his or her involvement. As expected, Cranston also issued a denial to the rumors that she has been chosen -- partly due to the unprecedented media attention she has now received, which must be quite overwhelming for a small designer. So no surprises there. What is a bit surprising is that for the first few days after the news came out, Cranston had maintained a "no comment" stance when asked, rather than denying it outright, which is what Sarah Burton and other rumored designers had done.
There are many who think that a denial doesn't necessarily mean that the designer is not making the dress. Both Sarah Burton and the CEO of Alexander McQueen have categorically denied that their fashion house has received the commission to make Catherine's wedding dress, yet that hasn't stopped the ongoing speculation that Burton is still a contender. Okay, so for some, Burton's denial doesn't rule her out, yet Cranston's denial indicates that she's no longer in the running?
In the meantime, it's interesting to see that Catherine has been photographed while out shopping earlier this week wearing a black Issa dress which features many of the same style details found in Sophie Cranston's dresses: flutter sleeves, a deep V-neckline, a figure-accentuating wrap dress. Coincidence or not, it's clear that the royal bride-to-be is a fan of both Issa and Libelula's style aesthetics.
Whatever happens, there’s no confirmed that Catherine brought her own ideas, and definitely had input in collaborating with the designer on how her wedding dress will look. Like most 29-year-olds, Catherine has developed her own taste in fashion and knows what suits her. However, that's a far cry from saying she designed her entire gown herself, and then asked Cranston to make it -- as London's Daily Mail suggested in a follow-up story the day after my report. If Catherine really designed her own dress, then why would she even need to commission a wedding dress designer? She could have just hired a good tailor.
