Meghan Markle's Wedding Dress

[Marlo]

Maybe Emilia's interns are exposing her.

 

[Madame Verseau]

How did her account become closed? According to Wickstead's rep she hadn't had a Twitter account for years:

https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/emilia-wickstead-responds-daily-mail-180805329.html

If this is true why didn't her rep come out with this when the story broke? This is getting crazy, along with the conspiracy theories on DM comments section that Wickstead is being silenced. She needs an expert in crisis management ASAP because the unforced error is not making this mess go away. Welcome to Gown-gate.

 

[jacqui24]

Except no where does anyone say where and when she said it, just some vague she claims. So yeah, the source is unknown and anonymous.

They directly quoted her. I know we don’t rely on DM a lot, but this isn’t some sources say she said. Her name was printed and her comments were in direct quotes. That would actually open DM up for liability. Unless we see some retraction by them on this, and they’ve run retraction on other things when challenged through IPSO, this is actually pretty solid. As sleezy as they can be, this isn’t done. And again, she doesn’t deny saying them, but corrects the facts of the case?

And look, I agree that it’s highly unusual for someone to shoot themselves in the foot like this. But the facts simply aren’t adding up to her never having said it.

How did her account become closed? According to Wickstead's rep she hadn't had a Twitter account for years:

https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/emilia-wickstead-responds-daily-mail-180805329.html

If this is true why didn't her rep come out with this when the story broke? This is getting crazy, along with the conspiracy theories on DM comments section that Wickstead is being silenced. She needs an expert in crisis management ASAP because the unforced error is not making this mess go away. Welcome to Gown-gate.

Someone mentioned when it first came up that nothing was ever posted in that account, and Twitter likely suspended it due to it being tagged all over the place all of sudden.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

There is no way lawyers aren't involved in this. Working for a Fortune 200 company, I can tell you that lawyers are involved in many aspect of a company, even vet press releases. Something like this might not have involved a whole legal team at this point, but a legal letter would be sent. They aren't going to engage in a war of words publicly, but they will protect their brand especially given the industry they are in.



Actually she said "the dress is identical to one of ours" and it's in direct quotes. I'm not sure how EW didn't say it looks like EW with that quote. I do also want to point out that Sabatian Shakespeare isn't quoting a source here. He's directly quoting EW. And even then, I'd be ok with someone saying to me that he's making it up and slandering EW, but when EW herself comes out with a statement like that? Yea, that changes things.

Meghan's £200k gown was identical to one of mine, says designer | Daily Mail Online

I'm sorry but it makes a difference where it was said and to whom, if she even actually said this stuff. If she said it to her mom in her own home or in her private office and someone overheard it because they were eavesdropping, that's just wrong and entirely different than if she was out in a public place and complaining to people. There still needs to be a source.

 

[XeniaCasaraghi]

I'm sorry but it makes a difference where it was said and to whom, if she even actually said this stuff. If she said it to her mom in her own home or in her private office and someone overheard it because they were eavesdropping, that's just wrong and entirely different than if she was out in a public place and complaining to people. There still needs to be a source.

Completely agree. Especially with some here making comments that she insulted Meghan and another designer publicly which is a lie; unless she called up the DM and gave this statement then she did nothing publicly. A comment she made, possibly in private, was taken and splashed in a tabloid.

 

[jacqui24]

I'm sorry but it makes a difference where it was said and to whom, if she even actually said this stuff. If she said it to her mom in her own home or in her private office and someone overheard it because they were eavesdropping, that's just wrong and entirely different than if she was out in a public place and complaining to people. There still needs to be a source.

If Sebastian Shakespeare was allowed in her home or private office, that's a bigger problem. I get your point, but my point is if you said it in public and within earshot of someone, then it was public. There are laws in UK that provides for reasonable expectation of privacy. Just like DM had to run retraction for publishing the photos of Meghan and Harry in Jamaica. We'll see if a retraction is run on this. But at this point, what she's not saying is saying a lot. I know I keep going back to this, but the fact that it was direct quote from Sebastian Shakespeare is very damning. It's not a source say she said it, which would be if it's something that came from a third person to him. And if you look at other articles DM run, it's always a source says or so and so reports.

 

[Terri Terri]

Since when do we take anything said in the Daily Mail/Fail as fact? This all seems like a mountain out of a molehill. It is amazing how tabloids and social media combined can so easily destroy someone's reputation and business.

We will wait and see whether Meghan wears anymore of her designs.

 

[Rudolph]

If she told this directly to Sebastian Shakespeare he would have certainly said so but he doesn’t say that.

Now again for the sake of debate, say she did say it in what she thought was private and it was repeated to the DMs gossip columnist, that’s completely different.

I’m pretty positive if we could get the candid opinions of designers around the world many would agree with EW. It wasn’t a once in a lifetime dress. Many dresses look the same and the critique about the hair is spot on to me.

I’m willing to wager just about anything that EW said nothing to either the DM or Sebastian Shakespeare.

 

[jacqui24]

If she told this directly to Sebastian Shakespeare he would have certainly said so but he doesn’t say that.

Now again for the sake of debate, say she did say it in what she thought was private and it was repeated to the DMs gossip columnist, that’s completely different.

I’m pretty positive if we could get the candid opinions of designers around the world many would agree with EW. It wasn’t a once in a lifetime dress. Many dresses look the same and the critique about the hair is spot on to me.

I’m willing to wager just about anything that EW said nothing to either the DM or Sebastian Shakespeare.

If she said it privately and they repeated it to Sebastian Shakespeare, it would've been a source said she said such and such. In this case, it's either in writing or he heard her voice himself. And her lack of denial at it being said also plays a part. She knows they have her on this. Most people would be going after DM for this if they can because it does hurt their professional reputation.

 

[O-H Anglophile]

If she said it privately and they repeated it to Sebastian Shakespeare, it would've been a source said she said such and such. In this case, it's either in writing or he heard her voice himself. And her lack of denial at it being said also plays a part. She knows they have her on this. Most people would be going after DM for this if they can because it does hurt their professional reputation.

And if EW said it directly to SS, he would have said Emilia said to me or Emilia told me....

 

[Lady Gudgeon]

Its beyond sad that comments we don't know the source of are being used to attack and threaten this woman. She could have said them on the phone in a private conversation and someone was spying on her, but nope let's still use the words to potentially ruin this woman's career. Its really quite sad that tabloid culture dictates the lives of so many.

This is such a non-issue from a TABLOID! Look how certain people are putting words into her mouth, she says the dress is almost identical to one of her designs and someone on this very board accusers her of accusing Claire of plagiarism; overreaction much. Her dress was identical to every wedding designers dress! That's why it's unoriginal, everyone already made it.
And people are using words like "she attacked Meghan"... Im sorry but didnt all she say was her hair looked bad?

It's interesting to me that people are going to such lengths to defend her. It's a direct quote using her name. The comments are in quotations and it clearly says "says Wickstead" indicating the words came directly from her. (‘Her dress is identical to one of our dresses,’ says Wickstead. ‘Apparently a lot of commentators were saying, “It’s an Emilia Wickstead dress.”’) - that's a direct quote from the original source. It's not attributed to anonymous sources or staffers or "some say..."

And further, when she released her statement, she in no way denied that she gave that quote, or claimed to have been misquoted or hacked, or gave any other number of explanations she could have given to explain this away. That, to me, says that she did give the quote and she gave it on the record. I'm confused as to why people are trying so hard to explain away her direct quote.

 

[jacqui24]

And if EW said it directly to SS, he would have said Emilia said to me or Emilia told me....

I don't believe most articles do this. They would just quote her directly and attribute it to her. That is the standard practice. Again, I don't really care if she said it or not because I usually don't care for her designs. I don't wish her ill-will, and I'm sure her company will survive this. I just think it was high unprofessional for a designer that mainly cater to high end clients who value discretion.

 

[Rudolph]

So give me a motive. EW sees the dress, calls up Sebastian Shakespeare of all people and goes on the record with him? Why?

“Says Wickstead” isn’t the same as “Wickstead tells me”. Maybe she said it a little too loud around an intern looking to make a few extra bucks.

If indeed she even said it, she didn’t say it directly to him.

 

[jacqui24]

So give me a motive. EW sees the dress, calls up Sebastian Shakespeare of all people and goes on the record with him? Why?

“Says Wickstead” isn’t the same as “Wickstead tells me”. Maybe she said it a little too loud around an intern looking to make a few extra bucks.

If indeed she even said it, she didn’t say it directly to him.

If an intern relayed the comments to him, he would've put a source said. That's how they cover themselves. If they directly quote without providing themselves with any protection knowing how much controversy this would drum up, they know for sure she said it and it's not through a source. They've either seen it in writing or he heard her voice saying it. They don't always use the exact words this person tells me when naming names. For him to name her as saying it removes his own protection.

Like I said, we can wait and see if they issue a retraction after going through IPSO. But given her statement, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Rudolph]

But why go on the record with a tabloid gossip columnist known for writing BS only to turn around a few days later and say the dress isnt a copy of her designs.

I’m assuming she hasn’t taken leave of her mental functioning. She’s a fairly high profile designer with high profile clientele. She knows how this all works.

 

[Pranter]

Maybe she had one too many and was indiscreet in her comments?


LaRae

 

[jacqui24]

But why go on the record with a tabloid gossip columnist known for writing BS only to turn around a few days later and say the dress isnt a copy of her designs.

I’m assuming she hasn’t taken leave of her mental functioning. She’s a fairly high profile designer with high profile clientele. She knows how this all works.

What I've learned over the years is that people do stupid **** for whatever reason. And as for turn around a few days later to retract it. There are a couple of very good reasons. One being that it was a publicity nightmare and she had to smooth it over so everyone can save face. Two being legal ramifications. There is no way Givenchy would've let this go. It's one thing if this was said about a random dress of theirs, but the most high anticipated and reported dress of the year? No. Like I mentioned earlier, Bernard Arnault personally commented on this. That's how seriously they are taking it.


And yes, I'm aware that she should know better given her clientele, which is why this would be considered highly unprofessional. Obviously, if it you or I saying it, it's not a big deal. But we aren't designers with namesake brands that's recognizable either.

 

[Lady Gudgeon]

But why go on the record with a tabloid gossip columnist known for writing BS only to turn around a few days later and say the dress isnt a copy of her designs.

I’m assuming she hasn’t taken leave of her mental functioning. She’s a fairly high profile designer with high profile clientele. She knows how this all works.

You should probably ask her as she's the only one who knows for sure.

My guess is that she didn't expect to get such blowback. People - even high profile designers - say snarky or indiscreet things all.the.time and don't expect them to go viral. But, too bad, so sad for her that they did in this case. It makes me think back to Vivienne Westwood talking trash about Kate.

 

[Rudolph]

I’m still not buying any of it. There was no reason to ring up a tabloid and go on the record. What was she hoping to accomplish?

The comment may have been repeated to SS but there’s many designers out there who if were asked, would agree with that. To my eye the dress does look like a lot of other dresses.

The ‘blowback’ came from social media. There was nothing in the supposed quote that was scandalous. Messy hair and generic dress. Many agree

 

[jacqui24]

I’m still not buying any of it. There was no reason to ring up a tabloid and go on the record. What was she hoping to accomplish?

The comment may have been repeated to SS but there’s many designers out there who if were asked, would agree with that. To my eye the dress does look like a lot of other dresses.

The ‘blowback’ came from social media. There was nothing in the supposed quote that was scandalous. Messy hair and generic dress. Many agree

There is not another designer out there in their right mind at this moment that will say what she did. Period. It doesn't matter if many or very few agree. It's indiscretion. Other clients are watching this. It doesn't matter what their own personal opinion on Meghan's dress is, if they even have one. It's the fact that she'd make such catty remarks that put it over the top. And her comments were catty by going after Clare Waight Keller by saying the dress is identical to hers and then going after Meghan's hair finishing it off by saying "it's a royal wedding, for God's sake". It's inappropriate thing to say about a client even if you aren't dressing her for this event. And all of her clients will have events that she won't be the one dressing them for.

Honestly, this baffles me because people have believed a lot worse about Meghan with a lot less than what we have here.

 

[Marlo]

What did Bernard Arnault say?

 

[jacqui24]

What did Bernard Arnault say?

 

[Pranter]

I’m still not buying any of it. There was no reason to ring up a tabloid and go on the record. What was she hoping to accomplish?

The comment may have been repeated to SS but there’s many designers out there who if were asked, would agree with that. To my eye the dress does look like a lot of other dresses.

The ‘blowback’ came from social media. There was nothing in the supposed quote that was scandalous. Messy hair and generic dress. Many agree

Who said she rang him up...we don't know the relationship or the setting this happened. Did he over hear her talking to someone...were they at the same location/event and she let her emotions get the better of her and pop off comments ?

Scandalous no...unprofessional and indiscreet yes.


LaRae

Good interview. Certainly if you want to take a leaf out of the style book from another person you could do far worse than Audrey Hepburn. It would suit me just fine for her to collaborate again with Givenchy.


LaRae

 

[Curbside]

There is not another designer out there in their right mind at this moment that will say what she did. Period. It doesn't matter if many or very few agree. It's indiscretion. Other clients are watching this. It doesn't matter what their own personal opinion on Meghan's dress is, if they even have one. It's the fact that she'd make such catty remarks that put it over the top. And her comments were catty by going after Clare Waight Keller by saying the dress is identical to hers and then going after Meghan's hair finishing it off by saying "it's a royal wedding, for God's sake". It's inappropriate thing to say about a client even if you aren't dressing her for this event. And all of her clients will have events that she won't be the one dressing them for.

Honestly, this baffles me because people have believed a lot worse about Meghan with a lot less than what we have here.

It seems like some are saying “well, Meghan didn’t look that great, so she deserves to have her appearance criticized.”

 

[jacqui24]

Good interview. Certainly if you want to take a leaf out of the style book from another person you could do far worse than Audrey Hepburn. It would suit me just fine for her to collaborate again with Givenchy.


LaRae

Harper Bazaar went back and looked at some of Audrey Hepburn's looks. Take a look at the gown Audrey modeled for Irving Penn in 1964. If we are to talk about inspirations, that's far more the case. Which makes sense because Clare Waight Keller talked about going back into the Givenchy vault to look for inspiration. There are obviously changes made here with time, technology, and to suit the individual bride, but this gown is quite classic Givenchy. Look at the sleeve and fit.

ETA: In my silliness, I forgot to leave the link I found the dress in.

https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celeb...rkle-audrey-hepburn-wedding-dresses-compared/

 

[Countessmeout]

Who said she rang him up...we don't know the relationship or the setting this happened. Did he over hear her talking to someone...were they at the same location/event and she let her emotions get the better of her and pop off comments ?

Scandalous no...unprofessional and indiscreet yes.


LaRae

Exactly. Or he called her, and she made the comment. No one is suggesting she reached out to him, just that the words came from her in some form.

If he had only heard she said it he would have said something like 'my sources say Emilia.....' to cover his backside.

 

[soapstar]

Totally agree. I doubt Kate will want to wear Emilia in the future. It’s the kind of thing that will just court controversy.

I don’t think Emilia’s comments about Meghan will play into whether Kate or any other royal wears her clothes. Vivienne Westwood has dragged Kate a number of times (she’s criticized her make-up and said she had no style), yet Eugenie, Beatrice and Camilla still wear her clothes. It’s safe to say that Meghan won’t show up in any of EW’s designs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if others continue to to wear her clothes.

 

[jacqui24]

I don’t think Emilia’s comments about Meghan will play into whether Kate or any other royal wears her clothes. Vivienne Westwood has dragged Kate a number of times (she’s criticized her make-up and said she had no style), yet Eugenie, Beatrice and Camilla still wear her clothes. It’s safe to say that Meghan won’t show up in any of EW’s designs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if others continue to to wear her clothes.

See this, and what she actually said in the statement, is exactly what makes me think that Givenchy threatened legal actions. The Palace won't completely blacklist her over something like this. That's not how they work. And she's obviously entitled to her opinion on the Duchess' look. However, it was the comment about the gown being identical to her that's truly troubling in a legal sense and not debatable that it's a verifiable statement and thus doesn't qualify as opinion. It's the most specific comment she went back on in her statement that's vague about a number of things. Notice how she didn't specific correct the hair comment? Which is fine, but it's just the example of how that's different than the identical comment.

 

[ACO]

I agree. I think that was likely the last of Meghan looking in her direction but overall I suspect this will blow over.

 

[MARG]

It is one thing for me or any other person on this forum to say they didn't like Meghan's dress because it was too plain. OK, lots of people wanted lace, embroidery or beading and, to be honest, I loved Meghan's gown, Victoria's, Anne's. But I also liked Stephanie and Claire's. I really loathed Mabel's, so much so that it put me off bows for years.

The thing is, there is no personal adulation nor personal put down when making those statements. For me, EW's comments about her dress and hair were couched in a very personal and insulting way, as if Meghan were totally ignorant of style or fashion or had no business wearing it.

In short, she dissed Meghan, a customer no less.