Revealed: The inspiration behind the Duchess of Cambridge's Bond premiere dress
When the Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday evening for the premiere of the latest 007 film, No Time To Die, wearing a dazzling gold dress, the comparisons to Bond girl glamour were, naturally, instant. The future queen in the golden gown was a headline writer’s dream.
It has now emerged that the Duchess’s showstopping dress was based on a design which her longtime favourite eveningwear couturier, Jenny Packham, created as part of a collaboration with EON productions to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the James Bond franchise.
Revealed on Thursday, the collection features eight designs, each one inspired by a different Bond film.
The dress worn by Kate this week is based on the scene in Goldfinger in which Bond girl Jill Masterson, played by English actress Shirley Eaton, is painted in gold as revenge for her betrayal of Goldfinger.
The 1964 moment has become one of the most memorable in Bond history, and Eaton caused a sensation when she appeared on the cover of Life magazine in her head-to-toe gold slick.
While Masterson dies from skin suffocation after being daubed in golden paint, Jenny Packham’s gown is far more wearable, as the Duchess proved at the premiere. Described as a ‘caped gown… embellished with folded sequins and crystals dazzling on a base of glitter tulle with a plunging neckline’, the Goldfinger dress will be available to buy from October 5, which is International James Bond Day.
The dress worn by Kate has a slightly higher neckline than that seen in the Bond collection, making it more regally demure than the style which will be available to purchase from retailers including Harrods and Net-a-Porter.
She is undoubtedly most famous for the glittering eveningwear (and Lindo Wing departure outfits) she makes for the Duchess of Cambridge, but Packham describes the experience of making dresses for previous Bond films as ‘a highlight of my career’, having been inspired by their glamour as a ‘cinematic constant’ in her life. In Die Another Day, Rosamund Pike wore a one-shoulder embellished gown by Packham while Caterina Murino was dressed in the designers’ scarlet bia-cut dress in Casino Royale.
The collaboration includes recreations of these designs as well as more pieces which take their cues from vintage Bond movies, including Octopussy, Dr No and The Spy Who Loved Me.
The Duchess’s decision to wear a dress which is part of her favourite designer’s commercial tie-up with the James Bond franchise underscores the close relationship between the Royal family and the 007 films, a relationship which dates back to the Queen’s attendance at the premiere of You Only Live Twice in 1967, bringing together two of the most quintessentially British institutions. Kate’s support for this collection brings that connection into the modern day.
It is not yet known how much the Duchess’s gown will cost, but similar styles are already on sale - the ‘Elizabeth’ dress, which has the same caped back, retails for £3,640, while the ‘Margot’, with gathered waist detailing like Kate’s dress, is available for £2,800.
Kate already owns numerous sequined gowns by Packham, including a pale pink design worn for her first black tie appearance as a royal in June 2011 and a dark green evening gown, debuted during her Pakistan tour in 2019. Yet the golden caped dress which the Duchess chose for the Bond premiere has struck a particular chord thanks to the giant dose of glamour it delivered after months without such displays of regal splendour.
Whether the rest of us will be able to carry off the look with quite the same impact as the Duchess remains to be seen, but we can at least have a Bond girl moment, now that a ‘copykate’ dress is going on sale.
