LONDON: Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy is the master British designer behind the sleek silk boat-necked gown and long billowing veil worn by Meghan Markle as she walked down the nave of St George’s Chapel for her wedding to Prince Harry.

The clean lines of the white dress highlighted Markle’s smiling face on Saturday as she sat at the altar of the chapel, holding Harry’s hand as the sprawling train lay at her feet.

Waight Keller, the first female artistic director of French fashion house Givenchy, met Markle earlier this year, Kensington Palace said. It said Markle wanted a dress with an “elegant aesthetic, impeccable tailoring, and relaxed demeanor”.

The dress featured no lace or embroidery, carrying a classic boat neckline, three-quarter length sleeves and an A-line skirt with a train measuring nearly six feet from the waist.

The veil carried floral references to all 53 countries in the Commonwealth, the group of countries that roughly corresponds to the former British Empire and is headed by Markle’s new grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II.

The palace said workers spent hundreds of hours sewing the delicate flower designs into the veil, meticulously washing their hands every half hour to keep the silk tulle and threads clean.

The palace said, in addition to the Commonwealth flowers, Markle also selected two other plants: Wintersweet and, in a nod to her birthplace, the California poppy.

The designer of Markle’s dress was one of the wedding’s most closely-guarded secrets, sparking months of speculation.

Waight Keller was a surprise choice her name was not among the many designers slated to be possible contenders for the dress commission of the year.

Educated at the Ravensbourne College of Art in south London, Keller kicked off her career at Calvin Klein in New York designing women’s ready-to-wear before moving to Ralph Lauren to work on the men’s “Purple Label”. After stints at Gucci, Pringle and Chloe, she was appointed as artistic director of Givenchy haute couture and women’s and men’s ready-to-wear last year.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2018