Recreating Kate Middleton's Iconic 2000s Style: A Look into The Crown
The Crown's final season beautifully captures the young love story of Kate Middleton and Prince William during their university days Discover the meticulous effort behind recreating Kate's iconic 2000s style, as costume designers reveal the challenges encountered in translating recent fashion history onto the screen
The Crown has captivated audiences for over five seasons with its glamorous portrayals, depicting the regal elegance of Queen Elizabeth and the iconic looks of Princess Margaret and Princess Diana. As the final season approaches, the focus shifts to the late 90s and early 2000s, coinciding with the deaths of the Queen Mother, Princess Diana, and Princess Margaret. The Emmy-winning costume department is adjusting to this new era as the new generation of royals emerges, ushering in a totally different aesthetic that we have yet to see. Sidone Roberts, head buyer and associate costume designer, describes the shift as being thrust into a new millennium, with a focus on the teenage Kate Middleton, portrayed by newcomer Meg Bellamy.
Bootcut jeans and big belts were a staple noughties look for the young Middleton while at university in Scotland.
Justin Downing/Netflix
The Netflix drama's final season is being released in two parts. The first part, which was released on Nov. 14, follows the last few months before Diana's death and features a wardrobe of swimsuits and casualwear in St Tropez. The second part, set to be released on Dec. 14, showcases Y2K fashion for Britain's upper-middle classes.
The black sheep knit worn by Princess Diana has become the most valuable sweater ever sold at auction. Consider Kate Middleton during her time at St. Andrews University in Scotland, with her eyes lined with black eyeliner, showcasing pieces that exude authenticity, including a brick-like Nokia mobile phone on Prince William's bedside table. Picture bootcut jeans paired with high-heeled boots, an oversized boho handbag, knee-high riding boots, and a chunky leather belt with a massive brass buckle.
Middleton's fictional campus love rival, on the other hand, confidently rocks space buns, sparkly skinny scarves, a faux-fur fillet, and the heaviest smoky eye in history. "Then you've got the boys, Harry and William, in jeans and polo shirts, looking slightly scruffy and unironed; Harry in his hippie beads, (juxtaposed with) Charles in his double-breasted suits," Amy added. "It was quite amusing, really."
Costumers sourced clothes for characters including William (played by Ed McVey) and Harry (played by Luther Ford) from vintage websites.
Justin Downing/Netflix
These costumes may be more recognizable to viewers than the outdated styles of past seasons, but the costumers' dedication to maintaining their approach remains the same. "In terms of intricacies and nuances," Sidone explained, "we are just as meticulous with 1952 as we are with 2002, because our goal is still the same: we want to get it right. We pay as much attention to the fit of Kate Middleton's jeans as we did to Princess Margaret's waistline in 1962," Amy added.
Remember Princess Diana's revenge dress? It's making a comeback.
Recreating the recent past is more challenging than commonly assumed. According to Sidone, a widespread misconception is that it is easier to do because everything can be bought or sourced easily. However, the reality is quite tricky when it comes to costumes from that time period. It is not far enough in the past for hire houses to have an extensive collection, yet it is not recent enough for the items to be readily available in stores or charity shops. Finding the right items requires a significant amount of searching.
Swimwear brand Gottex recreated some of the late Princess Diana's costumes for actor Elizabeth Debicki to wear in the show.
Courtesy Netflix
Fortunately, several brands were eager to offer their assistance. Swimwear brand Gottex, the British Lung Foundation, and even Harvard all joined in to recreate long-discontinued designs worn by Diana in the series. Additionally, British footwear brand Penelope Chilvers, who have been worn by the real Kate since 2004, reached out to the team directly and offered to contribute boots to the show.
Similar to many Gen Z shoppers, Sidone's search led her to popular online platforms for vintage deals, including Depop (a first for the series) and eBay. "I'm quite fortunate that there's a whole resurgence of Y2K-early 2000s style with young people, they're all into that now," she said.
Scrolling through Depop, Sidone found one of the looks she is most proud of this season: not the see-through dress Kate wore in a fashion show at St Andrews (rumored to have been the moment she first caught Williams attention), but the perfect jeans for the young Kate. A true bootcut, they not only complemented Bellamys shape, but also extended just beyond her 34-inch inseamlong enough to drag on the ground and be slowly destroyed by the elements and stabs of a spiked heel. "You always see the bottoms of jeans (from this era) all muddy and a bit frayed because they were slightly too long meaning they touched the ground, or the heel had gone through," Sidone said.
"It takes a certain amount of searching to find the right items," said the show's costumers of sourcing garments from the aughts.
Courtesy Netflix
"Amy confirmed that there are no close-ups of that detail," she said. "But we know, and you know, they're there!"
The joy of finding the perfect outfit is as much about the impact it has on the actor wearing it as it is about setting the scene. When Bellamy wore the jeans for the first time, it was a transformative experience. "She felt like Kate and felt confident to portray Kate," Amy said. "Working with actors, you are there to help, not hinder," she added.
