The Princess of Wales has been a fashion icon since even before she officially joined the royal family. Kate Middleton met Prince William back in college, and the two were in a serious relationship for a number of years before tying the knot. As Kate grew more famous, the public started paying more attention to her outfits.
The princess is now one of the most looked-up-to fashion influencers in the world without even trying. And while that makes for good publicity, someone on Kate’s team recently said it’s causing people to lose “focus” on the “important issues” that Kate highlights.
Kate Middleton’s fashion could be taking away from her charitable work
Whenever Kate steps out, her outfit is the first thing that’s analyzed. People want to see how much her clothes cost, how she dresses to attend a certain event, and whether there are any less expensive dupes of similar outfits online. It’s led Kate’s fashion to be heavily Googled by commoners, and it’s caused something called “the Kate effect,” where similar fashion pieces fly off the shelves as soon as she wears them.
But according to Express, a spokesperson for the princess recently told The Sunday Times that her fashion shouldn’t be the focus of what she does. “There is an absolute feeling that [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing,” the person close to Kate said at the time. “She wants the focus to be on the really important issues, the people and the causes she is spotlighting. There will always be an appreciation of what the princess is wearing from some of the public, and she gets that.”
The source continued, “But do we need to be officially always saying what she is wearing? No. The style is there but it’s about the substance.”
Kate Middleton wants people to focus on the issue, not her clothing
When the words were first said in early February, the spokesperson wasn’t expecting people to take them as coming from Kate, but there was a bit of confusion there; in mid-February, the palace aide clarified that the comments about Kate’s fashion were coming from someone on her team and not the princess herself.
Still, Kate has given tremendous focus to her work and likely agrees that her fashion should not be the fixation; rather, people should care more about the organizations Kate is bringing light to rather than what she’s wearing during the appearance. Still, Kate likely will never escape the obsession with her clothing.
