Kate Middleton’s wedding dress, designed by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, has fast become one of the most iconic bridal fashion moments of all time. The classic style, with its long lace sleeves and a full, princess-worthy skirt, nodded to the gowns worn by two other royal brides, Princess Grace of Monaco and Kate’s grandmother-in-law, the then-Princess Elizabeth, and will doubtless continue to inspire weddings for years to come. But how was this beautiful gown kept so entirely secret in the run up to William and Kate’s Westminster Abbey wedding? And how did Kate eventually decide upon a designer?

How was Kate Middleton’s wedding dress kept secret?

It’s no surprise that such an anticipated design was shrouded in secrecy until the big wedding day reveal at Westminster Abbey – though just quite how secretive the process was has (appropriately) remained under wraps until dressmaker Mandy Ewing revealed the lengths to which she and her team went to keep the dress a surprise.

‘We knew who it was for, but it was very secret – we had net curtains up and cleaners were not allowed into the room and the code on the door was changed,’ she explained after Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the Royal School of Needlework in November 2017.

‘The dress was all in the news, but nobody knew who was doing it. When you’re working on it you just focus on it and try not to think about what’s in the news. But it was an exciting event and everybody loved working on it – it was a once in a lifetime opportunity,’ she added.

Sarah Burton was ‘honoured’ to be chosen as Kate’s wedding dress designer

While designers like Jasper Conran and Bruce Oldfield (a favourite of the late Princess Diana) were rumoured to be in the running for the job, Alexander McQueen eventually came out on top. According to a palace statement on her wedding day, the Duchess chose the British brand ‘for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing,’ and wanted the dress to ‘combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterizes Alexander McQueen’s work.’ Sarah Burton, the brand’s creative director, certainly achieved that brief.

Discussing the process in an interview with the New York Times’ T magazine back in 2014, the designer said: ‘Some people think that I’m afraid to speak up about the happy experience I had creating the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress, but I can tell you that is nonsense.’

‘I loved making the dress […] and we put our hearts into it. I respect the intimate nature of that lovely project and I respect the friendships that were forged during it […] An instinctive, intelligent, imaginative young woman’s wish for a beautiful wedding dress – or any kind of dress – is the most natural thing in the world. And I was honoured to pick up the challenge and always will be.’ Indeed, the process marked the start of a strong fashion partnership between the house of McQueen and the Duchess of Cambridge: for a high profile royal event, such as the Trooping the Colour, a christening or even the recent wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Kate tends to opt for a smart custom design by Burton.