Kate joined Charles and Camilla for a rare joint royal engagement on the 3rd of February 2022.
The Duchess accompanied her in-laws for a visit to Trinity Buoy Wharf, a former docklands in the heart of the City of London.
Once an empty and derelict site, today Trinity Buoy Wharf is a centre for arts and cultural activities, home to over 500 creatives. The Prince’s Foundation, which Charles is president, has studios at the location.
The royals took a tour of Trinity Buoy Wharf before heading inside to meet with students, graduates and young business leaders from The Prince’s Foundation.
The tour included students creating mosaics and practising geometry, sculpture, sewing, and life-drawing, as well as local home-schooled pupils participating in a textiles workshop.
trinitybuoywharf.com
Kate watched a pattern-cutting demonstration with designer Nicole Christie, a graduate of the charity’s international Modern Artisan programme, a collaboration between the Prince’s Foundation and the YOOX Net-A-Porter group. (That’s Nicole, pictured below chatting with both Duchesses.)
Since graduating, Nicole has launched a sustainable womenswear label called Ellipsis that sells handmade silk clothing and accessories. The designer gifted Kate with a silk bag and a matching hair scrunchie for Princess Charlotte. According to one reporter at the engagement, Kate had her eye on one of Ellipsis’s silk dresses (pictured below).
A press release explained Kate’s participation in the engagement:
The Duchess of Cambridge was invited to join the visit by the Prince of Wales in recognition of Their Royal Highnesses’ shared interest and longstanding support of the arts and creative industries. Some examples of the Duchess of Cambridge’s patronages include the National Portrait Gallery, V&A and Royal Photographic Society.
Here’s a video from the visit:
Fun fact: the last time Charles, Camilla and Kate conducted a royal engagement as a trio, Kate also wore a grey pleated dress. The three visited the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2012.
Let’s come back to the modern-day and discuss Kate’s ensemble now.
Kate’s outfit:
The Duchess chose a grey tweed dress by Catherine Walker & Co. I believe it is a bespoke piece, made just for her. The garment features a contrasting black pointed collar crafted from velvet.
Plus, a pleated full skirt that hits on the knee. The dress’s sleeves and matching belt are finished in black velvet to match the collar.
Kate’s worn this dress before. She chose it for two engagements on the same day in March 2019 (with the Queen to open Bush House at Kings College London, then for a solo visit to the Foundling Museum.) She re-wore the piece 10 months later (in January 2020) to a Holocaust Memorial Day service.
Kate’s no stranger to Catherine Walker & Co. She’s worn clothing from the label frequently since joining the Royal Family in 2011.
Let’s take a look at Kate’s bag now. It’s by Mulberry. (ID credit: Bojana.) We hadn’t seen Kate carry the piece prior to this engagement.
It’s known as the Amberley bag in size small. Kate carries in black croc print. It features tonal black ring hardware and Mulberry’s geometric rider’s lock closure. As usual, Kate opted to remove the bag’s crossbody strap.
Sadly, the bag isn’t available to buy, it looks like it’s from an older season. Online, I can only find one bag—black and in size small—at FarFetch.com. It’s smooth leather, not croc print though.
Does Kate’s bag feel familiar? That’s probably because she owns it in white and carried it to Wimbledon in 2021:
Kate’s clearly quite the fan of Mulberry. I think this is the 10th bag she’s carried from the brand during her time as a working Royal (and I know I’ve seen her with other Mulberry bags in candid photos from ‘back in the day.’)
Above: on the left, Kate in South Wales with the Mulberry Darley bag in 2020. On the right, Kate carrying the Mulberry Polly Push Lock bag at Heathrow in 2011.
Kate’s pumps ought to feel familiar too. They’re the Gianvito Rossi Piper 85 style. The Duchess has worn them on 11 other occasions in public to date.
The shoes are made from black suede and feature an 85mm block heel and a sharply pointed toe.
Would these shoes beautifully finish that outfit you’re planning? Want to get your hands on them? Then I’m pleased to tell you, you’re in luck! They’re still available at Net-A-Porter.com for $695 / £535.
Gianvito Rossi is synonymous with the Duchess and her style. Kate is pretty loyal to the shoe designer, she owns over ten pairs of shoes from the brand, including one style in five different colours (the signature Gianvito 105 pumps) another in four colours (the signature Gianvito 85 pumps) and a few pairs of sandals too.
Finally, Kate added a little sparkle to her outfit by wearing the blue sapphire and diamond earrings that match her famous engagement ring.
It’s said these earrings were originally given to Princess Diana as a wedding gift by Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia. William passed the earrings on to Kate after their marriage and she had them modified into a drop style. She’s worn them on dozens of royal engagements since 2011.