After nine years under the under the direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri, the iconic French fashion house Christian Dior has become the de facto playbook for the world’s leading consorts – royal and otherwise.
Dior has guided these women through the minefield of event dressing, ensuring they embody the elegance required of their public performance.
When Kate Middleton greeted the Macrons at the start of the French State visit in July, she chose a dusty pink ‘Bar’ jacket and matching tulle skirt, both from the French label, in a masterclass of diplomatic dressing.
Meghan Markle felt that the brand’s custom couture was the only possible choice when it came to reappearing in Britain for her first public appearance at Queen Elizabeht II’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
She might have been glared at by the congregation as she walked up the cathedral aisle but she still exuded sartorial confidence thanks to the five-figure sum – and more, perhaps – that she was standing up in.
It was a natural choice. Dior had seen her through two significant royal moments – her son’s christening in 2019 where she wore a custom cream midi-dress – and a year earlier when in 2018 she stood alongside Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to mark the 100th birthday of the Royal Air Force.
Kate chose a dusty pink ‘Bar’ jacket and matching tulle skirt, both from the French label, in a masterclass of diplomatic dressing
Meghan Markle exuded sartorial confidence thanks to the five-figure sum – and more, perhaps – that she was standing up in
Armani loving Lady Helen Taylor even wore Dior for the funeral of her mother, the Duchess of Kent
Meghan’s navy silk fit-flare dress with its matching tulle fascinator stood out in an otherwise sea of more conventional royal wear. Disappointed over her lack of a seat at the Sussex’s royal wedding in 2018, euro-jet set royal Crown Princess Marie Chantal splurged and opted for a custom pink Dior midi dress by Grazia – hoping the multi-thousand pound spend would help make her mark on at least this royal guest list.
The normally British-branded Queen Camilla felt able to don a custom Dior cape-dress creation when it came time to attend a black-tie dinner at Versailles in 2023.
And the usually devoted Armani advocate, Lady Helen Taylor even turned to Dior’s single-breasted bar jacket and matching flare skirt as the only possible option for the funeral of her mother, the Duchess of Kent. And across the ocean, Melania Trump has made Dior a hallmark of her official wardrobe – donning the brand for some of her most significant public moments and leaning into its strengths as a showcase for the female silhouette.
But a brave new world now awaits this vast clientele of VIPs, royal and otherwise, who have come to rely on the brand for their most important moments on the media stage.
Restrained, tailored and razor-sharp chicness, the hallmarks for what many think of as the brand’s current creative strengths, were all thrown out the window when it came to Jonathan Anderson’s September 2025 debut collection for the house that he now presides over as Creative Director.
A ‘deconstructed’ Dior gave us n jersey balloon dresses, double breasted ‘Bar’ jackets shrunk to almost doll size that were worn thigh skimming mini-skirts, sleeveless satin dresses with basket weave skirts alongside oversized jersey that swathed the size 0 models.
While Shoreditch singles and West Village mavens may be thrilled – what will these royal women who have returned time and again to Dior as the go-to option wear now?
The answer might lie, as always, with that trailblazer of royal fashion, Princess Diana: embrace the new, but do so sparingly, with care and with confidence.
Melania Trump has made Dior a hallmark of her official wardrobe
Queen Camilla felt able to don a custom Dior cape-dress creation when it came time to attend a black-tie dinner at Versailles in 2023
Diana’s slinky evening gown that might have been mistook for luxury lingerie made a bold post-divorce statement
Daring, dynamic and definitely not designed for a British princess was how the fashion press dubbed Dior’s shocking navy silk negligee-like evening gown that Princess Diana donned for what was even by her standards a glammed-up appearance in December 1996 at New York’s famed Met Gala.
Less than five months after her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana turned to the famed French brand to launch a sartorial hand grenade to more than fifteen years of royal dressing. Arriving on the arm of Harpers Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis, Diana’s slinky evening gown that might have been mistook for luxury lingerie made a bold post-divorce statement that neither she nor what she wore, needed to abide by the buttoned-up rules of her former in-laws.
The New York Times believed it a transformational moment for a princess who once more demonstrated ‘the restorative powers of celebrity.’
Loosely inspired by Galliano’s first collection with the French luxury house, Diana had taken a big risk on a designer who albeit the talk of European fashion was creating silhouettes that felt to many an exaggerated departure from the understated elegance that had come to personify the iconic fashion house.
But for a woman seeking to redefine her footprint on an international media landscape whilst retaining the legacy of the brand that had positioned her there in the first place – nothing could have been more perfect than the choice of this newest iteration of Christian Dior.
Though not without its critics, the look personified the marriage between an old and new world. Choosing to wear her trademark royal sapphires alongside cutting edge couture, Diana demonstrated how effectively fashion could be repurposed for individual aims, even when it seems far outside the scope of determined dressing.
Whether or not there is a princess, Duchess, Queen (current or future) who can find the same harmony remains to be seen – but Diana’s example leaves open tantalizing possibilities for the next chapter in royal Dior’s red-carpet runway.