In a delightful twist, Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy designed Meghan Markle's royal wedding dress, which was sleek, minimal, and fashioned from matte silk cady with a boatneck and only six seams, according to Kensington palace. There's another fashion icon who loved the insanely timeless designs from Givenchy: None other than Audrey Hepburn. The Belgian-born actress famously wore a Givenchy wedding gown in Funny Face in 1957.
Both dresses don't have a stitch of lace, and each has a straight, bateau neck. Markle's, of course, is, three-quarter sleeve, not tea-length and not outfitted with a fluffy ballgown skirt. But still! Really similar, right?
Hubert de Givenchy passed away earlier this year after a lifelong relationship with his muse, Audrey Hepburn. Although he didn't design her dress for any of her real-life weddings, there's no doubt his clean and simple aesthetic made an indelible influence. Her Givenchy-like taste can particularly be seen her first wedding dress by Zoe Fontana, which she never ended up wearing down the aisle. Her engagement to James Hanson ended in 1952.
Hepburn ended up donating that dress, telling the Fontana sisters, "I want my dress to be worn by another girl for her wedding, perhaps someone who couldn't ever afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor Italian girl you can find."
She wore a long-sleeve dress by Pierre Balmain to marry Mel Ferrer in 1954:
And a more casual dress for her wedding to Andrea Dotti in 1969.
Follow along here as we report on the royal wedding in real-time—from the dress to the tiara to Harry and Meghan's most adorable moments.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Hannah Morrill is a writer and editor based in Portland, Maine. She’s an avid reader, an indifferent face-washer and a sunscreen/retinol evangelist.
-
Zendaya's Method Dressing Marathon Is Over
She found a new way to serve in custom Vera Wang.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
Bitten Lips Took Center Stage at Dior Fall 2024 Show
Models at the Dior Fall 2024 show paired bitten lips with bare skin, a beauty trend that will take precedence this season.
By Deena Campbell Published
-
30 Spring Items That Solve My Expensive-Taste-on-a-Humble-Budget Dilemma
See every under-$300 spring item on my wish list.
By Natalie Gray Herder Published
-
Meghan Markle’s New Netflix Cookery Show Begins Filming Today—But Not Where You’d Expect It to Be Shot
The Sussexes are having a busy week this week, shooting both of their his-and-her Netflix shows and rolling out the first product offering for Meghan’s new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle’s Lifestyle Brand American Riviera Orchard Reveals Its First Product Offering
Fifty samples were sent out in the company’s first limited edition run of the item.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle Thinks Prince Harry Is "Making a Big Mistake" in Wanting to Reach Out to William, Kate: Source
She's worried he'll get hurt again.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
King Charles “Desperately” Wants the Sussexes to Join Him at Balmoral This Summer
The castle in the Scottish Highlands, independent of a potential Sussex visit, is undergoing a major change starting this summer.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Officially Announce Two New Netflix Series, Both In the “Early Stages” of Production
One show focuses on one of Meghan’s primary hobbies, while the other goes behind the curtain of one of Harry’s foremost passions.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle Feels Princess Kate Should Have Had Her Back as a Fellow "Outsider," Says Expert
Meghan doesn't want to repair their relationship, supposedly.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Meghan Markle’s Father on ‘Suits’ Gave Her the Sweetest Advice Before Her 2018 Wedding to Prince Harry
Wendell Pierce played Robert Zane, the dad of Meghan’s character Rachel on the legal drama.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle's New Brand Is "No Different" From What King Charles, Other Royals Have Done for Decades: Expert
Her new venture has predictably received criticism ahead of launch.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published