Royal Wedding: Secrets From a Fashion Designer
The renowned Bruce Oldfield shares his vision of the royal wedding.
LONDON, Feb. 4, 2011— -- Twelve weeks from today, all eyes will be on Kate Middleton as she arrives at Westminster Abbey for her royal wedding.
The waiting ended and the wedding dress revealed, seamstresses the world over will be frantically making replicas.
For now, however, the big secret everyone wants to know is who is designing that dress.
Let's start with the man hotly tipped to be the frontrunner.
"Nightmare," says the renowned British designer Bruce Oldfield, an old-time favorite of the late Princess Diana.
"Whichever happens, it's going to be a sharp intake of breath," Oldfield says. "It's going to be, 'Oh, my God, what is she wearing' or, 'Doesn't she look fabulous.'"
Middleton's mother, Carole Middleton, and sister Pippa caused quite a stir when they were caught on-camera coming out of Oldfield's London shop.
It's no secret that he will be dressing many of the wedding guests.
"Huge amount," Oldfield, 60, says. "We've already got three or four nice ones."
So, even if he doesn't end up designing the big white dress, there is always the matter of dressing the mother of the bride.
"I think she is a very elegant mother," Oldfield says. "Reminds me somewhat of [French first lady] Carla Bruni."
That's a comparison with which few would object.
"She liked it too, actually," Oldfield said, chuckling.
While he remained mum on whether he has a commission for Kate Middleton's dress, he hinted at what to expect.
"I'm sure the dress is going to be modest," Oldfield says. "In terms of coverage, it has to be.
"It will have sleeves. It has to have sleeves. You can't walk down Westminster Abbey in a strapless dress."
"It has to suit the grandeur of that aisle," Oldfield adds.
"I can predict she will wear a veil. That was, to me, the most poignant part of Diana's wedding: As she was walking up the aisle, her eyes were going left to right, looking at people and smiling. That was great.
Middleton 'Bagged the Big One'
"I think whatever she wears, she's going to great," the designer says. "She is slim, she's elegant, she's not a shrinking violet.
"But she is just a normal, ordinary girl who happens to have bagged the big one."
Oldfield is beloved in the fashion industry. He came from humble origins, being placed in an orphanage when he was a day old.
He was raised by a seamstress, which accounts for his love for fashion.
The designer is now at the top of his game, having dressed royalty and celebrities for years: from Queen Rania of Jordan to English actress Kate Winslet, but none more iconic than Princess Diana.
"We were together for 11 years," Oldfield says. "Sounds like a marriage."
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