Australian designer joins Zara Tindall in the Royal Enclosure
Australians are more likely to see horseback riding at Royal Ascot than exchanging air kisses at the Royal Enclosure, but on the opening day of the prestigious carnival, designer Rebecca Vallance found herself curtsying to King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Last year the Ballarat-born designer attended in fabric only, with Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall wearing a pale blue midi dress with a Rebecca Vallance neckline. Yesterday Tindall wore a custom-made mauve dress by the brand but ushered Vallance away from the closet and into the Royal Enclosure.
“I am endlessly inspired by the moments when women embrace the art of dressing,” says Vallance, who launched her brand in 2011 while living in London. “Royal Ascot represented a commitment to creativity and tradition.”
Tindall’s profile has grown as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have been increasingly absent from royal events, while the scandal around her links to their disgraced father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein lingers like a Pimms stain on white satin. Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales skipped the opening day races, making the former rider even more prominent at Royal Ascot.
Tindall wore Rebecca Vallance several times last year; She last wore it to her brother Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s wedding earlier this month.
“It’s very gratifying when someone keeps coming back to the brand,” says Tindall of Vallance’s commitment to the label. Tindall attended the brand’s launch at Harrods’ London flagship in 2023.
“Relationships are built over time and are a reflection of shared values, not any one moment in time.”
Queen Camilla and King Charles wore soft spring hues in an example of complementary couple wear to rival the Beckhams. The Queen accessorized her custom-made pale blue Anna Valentine dress with floral embroidery with the 18.8-carat Cullinan V brooch, which she recently wore to the White House during her state visit to the United States in April.
Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester, who stood out with diamond clips from her bandeau tiara at Trooping the Color, continued her style with a woven sinamay hat by Finley Howie, a graduate of the King’s Foundation Metiers d’Art Haberdashery Scholarship program.
The Danish-born duchess has become a staunch supporter of the programme, a partnership between the foundation and Chanel, and last year wore the hat of former graduate, drag queen and milliner Barnaby Jones.
Former Spice Girl Geri Horner has proven she is not immune to the fancy dress fashion approach often seen at Royal Ascot’s Melbourne Cup carnival. My Fair Lady She approaches in a white lace dress from The Vampire’s Wife.
The brand was a favorite of Catherine, Princess of Wales, before Susie Cave, wife of founder Nick Cave, closed its doors in 2024 due to financial pressures. The designer opened a new demi-couture business, Susie Cave Weddings & Funerals, in April.
Reality TV star Kelly Osbourne also took a vampire-themed approach, donning a bat headdress as a gothic tribute to her father Ozzy.
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