From The Straits Times    |

The designer of the royal wedding dress said she thinks Meghan Markle may have admired her role as a successful “working mother”.

Birmingham-born Clare Waight Keller, who has twin daughters and a son, made history as the first female artistic director at French fashion house Givenchy.

She was revealed as the designer of Meghan’s dress on the morning of the wedding, after months of speculation about who was chosen to create the gown which will go down in fashion history.

“I think she really admired the fact that I was a woman designer and the many companies I’ve worked for – British companies and international companies.

“And the fact that I’m a working mother maybe played into that as well, so that was maybe part of her story,” Ms Waight Keller said.

Pageboy Jasper Dyer arrives at the wedding (Chris Jackson/PA)

As well as Prince George, and Harry’s six-year-old godson Jasper Dyer, the pageboys were seven-year-old twin brothers Brian and John Mulroney, who held the bride’s veil as she walked into the chapel – an element of the day which was down to Meghan.

Ms Waight Keller said: “That was really Meghan’s idea, and I think it was really such a poetic little moment.

“They were adorable, the two boys, and they did a fantastic job I have to say.

“It was important that they place themselves in the right spot so that the veil looked amazing.”

See also: PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE RELEASE CASUAL, INTIMATE OFFICIAL ROYAL WEDDING PHOTOS

Asked if she was worried about anything going wrong, she said: “There’s always things that you think about, but I have to say they’re very good at rehearsing… and on the day, the boys felt very confident.

“They really were just loving the moment actually.”

 

Proud friend. Proud mom.

A post shared by Jess Mulroney (@jessicamulroney) on

The twins’ mother, Jessica Mulroney – a close friend of Meghan’s, posted on Instagram: “Proud friend. Proud mom.”

Ms Waight Keller said Meghan was “just glowing” after the ceremony.

“I think it was such a special moment for the two of them.

“They’re so in love, and I was just thrilled to be part of the whole thing,” she said.

Meghan’s five metre-long veil held in place by Queen Mary’s diamond tiara and featured flowers from all Commonwealth countries, as well as her native California.

Talking about how that became a feature of the look, Ms Waight Keller said: “Well there was a conversation early on about the story that we were going to tell through this wedding.

“And so part of what I wanted to do was talk to her about what those type of stories could be.

“And the fact that both her and Prince Harry will be actually working a lot within the Commonwealth was something I thought was really intriguing and something built on to be part of the day.

Clare Waight Keller, who designed Meghan Markle’s wedding dress (Hannah McKay/PA)

“So over a period of time, we had different conversations back and forth and I came up with the idea of maybe representing each of the countries – the 53 countries of the Commonwealth – through their flora and fauna.

“And we both love the story of that and it also meant that every single one of those countries also journeyed up the aisle with her, which I thought was a really poetic moment.”

She added: “She just loved it, absolutely loved it.

“I think it was something for her that meant a lot, so it was a wonderful decision in the end to do that.”

Ms Waight Keller said she is giving her final design sketches to Meghan as a keepsake.

See also: HERE’S WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE’S SURPRISING WEDDING DRESS CHOICE

This article was originally published on Press Association