How Princess Kate Caused One Fashion Designer to Worry Someone Had Died During a "Supersonic Day"
"I remember looking down at my phone, and I had like 200 missed calls."
Princess Kate is known for her ability to make items of clothing sell out almost immediately whenever she wears them. But the "Kate effect" seriously worried one fashion designer, who couldn't believe what happened when the Princess of Wales wore their brand.
British designer Jade Holland Cooper, who runs Princess Kate-approved brand Holland Cooper, revealed what happened when the royal endorsed her label during an appearance on the "Olivia's House" podcast.
"The first time she wore it, it was just like amazing," Cooper explained (via People). "She's probably the only person globally you can't pay to wear something...so when she wears something, you know, she likes it, [and] she's picked it organically."
The designer continued, "I remember looking down at my phone, and I had like 200 missed calls, and I thought, 'Oh my god, someone's died! What's happening?'"
Princess Kate wearing a Holland Cooper bodysuit in Italy.
When Princess Kate wore two outfits from the designer on the same day in May 2021, Cooper was pretty overwhelmed.
"She wore our double-breasted blazer in the morning, and then she wore our trench coat on the red carpet in the evening, and it was just like this...supersonic day where the globe goes green, everyone's shopping all over the world," Cooper explained.
The designer continued, "You're on every press article, every news coverage, there's 500 million fan accounts, like, it's crazy."
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Princess Kate wearing a Holland Cooper blazer during a visit to Scotland.
As Cooper noted, "They call it the 'Kate effect' for a reason." Basically, the Princess of Wales can completely alter the trajectory of any brand, which is more than a little impressive.
Shop Holland Cooper
Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.