Incredibly, more than a decade has passed since the then Kate Middleton walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey on the arm of her father, Michael. Twelve years after she married her prince on a glorious spring day in 2011, and the world was swept up in all the romance of the royal wedding, Vogue looks back on the Princess of Wales’s spectacular Alexander McQueen gown in numbers.
One
The number of years Sarah Burton had been artistic director at Alexander McQueen when she was commissioned to create one of the most anticipated wedding dresses in history. The bride chose the British house “for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing.” Kate, now the Princess of Wales, wanted a wedding gown that combined “tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterizes Alexander McQueen’s work,” the Palace said. Burton, who had been McQueen’s right-hand woman for years, was named as the designer’s successor after he tragically took his own life in 2010.
30
The number of minutes that passed before seamstresses working on Kate’s wedding dress had to wash their hands, in order to keep the lace and threads pristine
Three
The number of hours that were allowed to pass before the needles were renewed, to ensure they were sharp and clean.
Nine
The number of feet the royal bride’s train stretched behind her as she walked down the aisle. Burton designed the skirt to echo an opening flower, with white satin gazar arches and pleats that pooled in a train measuring two meters and 70 centimeters—or almost nine feet.
