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Ties between Wimbledon and the royal family go back a long way. To 1907, to be precise, the first year that the Prince and Princess of Wales (who would become King George V and Queen Mary) attended the famous Championships. King George V later became patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, a role now held by the current Princess of Wales. Kate Middleton’s outfits are pored over almost as much as the action on court, and looking back at royal appearances at the tournament we can see how fashion has evolved throughout the decades. Keep up with Wimbledon 2023 via our liveblog. As the iconic Championships begins today (Monday 3 July), a fashion expert talks through some key looks and what they tell us about the style of the era… King George V and Queen Mary During the first Wimbledon Championships after a four-year hiatus due to World War I, the 1919 women’s final was attended by King George V – who was known to dislike contemporary fashion – and Queen Mary. “When George arrived at Wimbledon, the hub of fashion inspiration for trendy Brits going into the Twenties and Thirties, he stood out like a sore thumb,” says Rosie Harte, author of The Royal Wardrobe. Queen Mary wore a fringed dress with a loose coat, hat and gloves, and carried an umbrella. “She, like other members of the royal family, felt pressure to fall in line with George’s conservative fashion preference,” Harte continues. “And so appears here dressed in a slightly dated, soft and cluttered outfit at odds with the trim tailoring and sleek silhouettes beginning to emerge in women’s fashion.” Queen Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II became patron of the All England Club in 1952, but only visited the Championships a handful of times. The first was in 1957 when she attended the women’s singles final, wearing a floral midi dress with white accessories. “Unlike the celebrities of their day, the most dutiful of Wimbledon-bound royals have often avoided pandering to the tennis aesthetic when styling themselves for an appearance,” says Harte. “Even as a young Queen at Wimbledon, Elizabeth was always more fond of an outfit that read homely British romance rather than the wardrobe of the modern woman.” The monarch returned to the tournament in 1977, donning a pink coat dress and hat, and in 2010, wearing a similar ensemble in aqua blue. “Each appearance followed the rubric of the Queen’s royal uniform which, as the years went on, became more and more regimented,” Harte says. “Whether she was on the green or sat in a sea of spectators, the eye needed to be drawn to the Queen through the use of vibrant colours that do not typically feature in the Wimbledon setting.” Diana, Princess of Wales Tennis fan Diana attended Wimbledon more than a dozen times during the Eighties and Nineties, during which time her personal style evolved considerably. “Going into the Nineties, the Princess of Wales was under no illusion that her marriage was the fairytale it had initially been framed as,” suggests Harte. “Consequently, the frothy, fairytale elements of her wardrobe, inspired by the traditional looks of more senior royals, began to disappear.” Floral frocks and roomy sailor dresses made way for more structured and tailored looks. Harte says: “Her white pleated skirt in 1991 embodied an elevated tennis skirt, and in 1995, her pale suit jacket with sunglasses folded over the collar set her apart as a sleek modern woman.” Kate Middleton Another big tennis fan, Kate has been snapped in the audience at Wimbledon as far back as 2007, but her first memorable fashion look came in 2012, a year after she married the Prince of Wales. Kate donned a seemingly tennis-inspired knitted dress from Alexander McQueen (the label that made her wedding dress) with a drop-waist and blue accented cuffs and hem. “She radiated the essence of the iconic pre-war tennis star – an aesthetic largely rejected by the royal family,” says Harte. Taking over from the late Queen as patron in 2016, Kate has continued to reference tennis colours over the years with green and white dresses, and in 2022 opted for vintage-inspired looks. “Last year saw her attending Wimbledon in various outfits that used cut, colour and accessories to reference the fashions of the daring, modern woman who emerged in the 1920s and Thirties,” says Harte. “Her bright yellow Roksanda Ilinčić frock was the most subtle of these, but the vibrant colour was uncompromising, making her an unavoidable figure at the event.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live The Idol should have been about modern cults rather than Tedros’s weird kinks Stanley Tucci recalls trying to break up with wife Felicity Blunt over 21-year age gap Plans for Prince Andrew to move into Harry and Meghan’s former home ‘quietly shelved’

People can’t decide whether Balenciaga’s new $925 bath towel skirt is an example of clever marketing or just a ploy to wipe wallets. The unparalleled high fashion house, piloted by long-time creative director Demna Gvasalia, regularly releases peculiar designs, made to look beaten down and wrecked, with purposeful outlandish price tags – see its $1,850 fully destroyed sneakers or $1,800 trash bag tote. But this particular pick from the brand’s Spring 2024 collection sparked widespread debate online as soon it became available for pre-order on 14 November. A $927 terry-cloth towel, fashioned to be a wrap skirt, comes after the Georgian designer faced backlash for a controversial 2022 holiday ad featuring children holding teddy bears in leather bondage. Following the extensive criticism, Demna said he planned on tapping into his “roots in fashion as well as to the roots of Balenciaga, which is making quality clothes – not making image or buzz”. He told Vogue his plan in February a few weeks ahead of his fall 2023 debut. But while the designer intended to find motivation from Balenciaga founder Cristóbal moving forward, this quirky bathroom garment prompted further conversation about the brand’s continued desire to offer “absurd” luxury items. One riled up fashion enthusiast took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to make a larger generalisation. “This is absurd, These brands will sell anything and everything at such ridiculously high prices,” they wrote. “Balenciaga is so unserious,” another critic commented, while someone else said: “I’ll say it again... Balenciaga is conducting an experiment. It’s a behavioral science study. You can’t convince me otherwise.” Amid the flock of immediate criticism, brand supporters pointed out the platform and intended buyers Balenciaga targets. “In economics we’d say they are discovering the true demand curve. They are checking their customer base to see how elastic they are. If it’s a fairly inelastic demand curve of which it’s very likely to be. They won’t lose anything by being selling s*** like this, in actual fact…” one person wrote. “I need customers like theirs,” another fan proclaimed. One candid reviewer wrote: “What kind of madness is this? At least I’m not their target market.” Other X users added remarks about how they could make their own towel skirt with their fluffy fabric at home. “I already got a towel skirt, it cost $10 and it’s from Walmart,” one individual commented. Playing off the high-end fashion brand’s current visibility, Ikea, the Swedish homewares and furniture brand, dropped a similar advertisement, highlighting its $10 VINARN bath towel. In promotional photos, a model could be seen with the towel wrapped around his waist, layered over a pair of construction pants. On top, the man donned a common Balenciaga identifier with a black hoodie and wrap-around moto sunglasses. Read More Women’s scarves and crocheted ties - what is Robert Peston wearing now? McDonald’s and Crocs collaborate on new Grimace shoes Jacob Elordi reveals why he always carries a purse Women’s scarves and crocheted ties - what is Robert Peston wearing now? McDonald’s and Crocs collaborate on new Grimace shoes Jacob Elordi reveals why he always carries a purse

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