The silhouette instantly recalled a look once worn by the late Princess Diana in the early 1980s during the London Film Festival. Diana’s own gown, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel (the duo behind her wedding dress), featured a sweeping velvet piece with a show-stopping lace collar.

While their fabrics and contexts differ, the shared design code between the two gowns – the bold neckline, the romantic lace trimming, the quintessential early-royal-era femininity, is simply impossible to ignore.

Where Diana leaned into theatrical glamour, Kate’s interpretation was modernised through sleek tailoring and minimalist accessorising. Yet the homage was crystal clear: an echo rather than a replica, and a reminder that fashion has always been one of the most powerful forms of royal storytelling.

The Princess further paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II by accessorising with the late monarch’s beloved Bahraini pearl drop earrings.

She completed the look along with a delicate cross pendant that added a polished, spiritual touch to the ensemble.

Her look also underscored something both Kate and Diana championed long before “sustainable fashion” became a buzzword: the belief that clothes are meant to be reworn, reimagined, and treasured.

Diana regularly restyled her most iconic pieces, and Kate has long followed the same philosophy, proving that cultivating a lasting wardrobe is far more elegant than chasing a never-ending carousel of newness.