The Eyebrow-Raising Sum Of Money Kate Middleton Is Worth To The British Fashion Industry
Earlier this year, Kate Middleton posed (and danced) while photographer Paolo Roversi captured stunning portraits of the Duchess for her 40th birthday. A trio of pictures were released in January 2022, two of which were in sepia tones while another was in all-color with Kate wearing a red Alexander McQueen dress (via Vogue). The day after the release, printing company Printique found that searches for "red dress" exploded by 376 percent worldwide (via Express).
"The Kate Effect," as this astounding effect Middleton has on fashion consumers is known, happens every time the Duchess of Cambridge makes a public appearance. As one of the most stylish royals, thereby being an iconic British influencer, Kate Middleton can bolster sales for brands, spotlight sustainability, and spark trends with just one outfit change. Recently, the effect Kate has on the fashion industry has been quantified. Read on to know how much she contributes to the industry.
The Kate Effect is worth a lot
According to Newsweek, the effect Kate Middleton has on the UK fashion industry isn't just a qualitative adjective — she may be worth around £1 billion as well. Since 2011, people have been following websites like What Kate Wore, to browse and buy everything the royal wears and endorses. Most of these have been a mix of high street and designer British brands, like Jenny Packham, Alexander McQueen, and LK Bennett more often than others.
One of the more notable examples is the Reiss dress that Kate wore to meet the Obamas in 2011, which sold at a rate of one dress a minute right after. The founder of Reiss, David Reiss told Marie Claire, "The surge in web traffic following the release of these images [of Kate wearing the brand's Shola dress] caused our website to crash. The dress promptly sold out online when service was resumed."
Kate also re-wears pieces from her wardrobe, bringing them back into the public eye while highlighting the importance of sustainability. "I don't think you could ever foresee the effect she's had on any brand," a J Brand Jeans representative told News.com.au. "She's got this amazing influence none of us could ever predict to market."