Romancing the Royal Portrait
The New York Times
In three new birthday portraits, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, gives the fairy tale relevance and a hit of Pinterest inspiration.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, the commoner-turned-royal formerly known as Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, mother of a future king, has turned 40. In honor of the event, three new portraits have been unveiled to the world, to go on display in three locations before becoming part of the permanent collection of London’s National Portrait Gallery, there to remain for posterity.
Taken by Paolo Roversi, the Vogue photographer known for his soft-focus time-out-of-time style and high romanticism, the Catherine portraits show the duchess in three different Alexander McQueen gowns — a choice that not only ticks the box of wearing British, but also continues Catherine’s relationship with Sarah Burton, the designer who made her wedding gown. According to British Vogue, the dresses, custom-made for the duchess, were created from fabric left over from previous McQueen collections, adding a frisson of sustainability to the shoot.
Two of the pictures are black and white: In one she is sitting in profile looking gracefully into the distance and wearing an off-the-shoulder gown with bows trailing from shoulders; in the other, she is in a ruffled one-shoulder top, facing the camera and grinning. In the third portrait, which is in color, she is in a red taffeta dress with a giant ’80s-worthy puffed sleeve, hands in her pockets, laughing.
