Wardrobe for a woman who doesn’t trust glamour: the Queen 2015
Picture: REUTERS
Her costumes made Elizabeth II a brand: Uni, but in colour. The look became her trademark, also because it met her basic skepticism about everything glamorous.
Et was the late nineties, the years after the death of daughter-in-law Diana, when not only the image of the Queen was crumbling, but also her look was getting on in years. For an institution like the British royal family, whose popularity largely depends on beautiful pictures, that was not a good prospect. The Queen, so the growing impression, was getting old. Angela Kelly, a member of her team who hadn’t been around for long, set about making Elizabeth II’s wardrobe fit for the new millennium. For many more years of reign.
It wasn’t just any job. The British royal family has survived the centuries not least because its values cannot be shaken. A skirt length will not challenge the monarchy, but independently changing skirt lengths can be symbolic of impermanence. The early years of Elizabeth II were under such an impression, the surprising abdication of her uncle King Edward VIII was still having an effect. The reason for this was Wallis Simpson, a woman who lived her life in fashion. The young princess’ basic skepticism about everything glamorous will hardly have been overcome.