The “Meghan Markle Effect” is showing no signs of slowing down.
After designing the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding gown in May 2018, Clare Waight Keller, creative director of French fashion house Givenchy, was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People.
“Clare stood out because she learned the business so successfully and artfully, and because her clothes reflected the innately human and beautiful. Clare’s simple wedding gown for Meghan Markle was exactly that — a reflection of the lovely and modern young woman who just happens to be a 21st century princess,” Julianne Moore wrote for the magazine. “The world gasped when they saw that bride, and everyone wanted to know who had made that dress.”
The gown, which featured a bateau neckline and three-quarter sleeves inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s “Funny Face” look by Hubert de Givenchy, was crafted with a matching five-meter-long veil with hand-embroidered flora from each Commonwealth country.
Waight Keller also designed dresses for Markle’s six young bridesmaids, including Princess Charlotte.
The luxury label is a clear favorite of Markle’s. She’s worn simple yet tailored looks by Givenchy to many different social engagements since getting married to Prince Harry, and in December, the duchess even made a surprise visit to the British Fashion Awards to present Waight Keller with the British Womenswear Designer of the Year award.
“I got to know Meghan on such a personal level,” the designer said at the awards show. “To have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life is something that is just the most unbelievable honor. And I can’t thank you enough because it was the most beautiful moment.”
Other members of the fashion and beauty industry that were honored by Time this year include makeup artist Pat McGrath, Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and Rent the Runway founder Jennifer Hyman.