By Lucy Pavia
From the editors of Marie Claire
Prince William and Kate Middleton arrived on the BAFTAs red carpet tonight to attend the ceremony and champion William’s role as president of the Academy.
Walking the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall with BAFTA CEO Amanda Berry – guests of honour always arrive last – William wore black tie, Kate wore a long, dark green empire line dress by British designer Jenny Packham.
Kate’s choice of dark green stood out in tonight’s sea of black outfits, as actresses ranging from Jennifer Lawrence to Octavia Spencer picked an all-black or monochrome look to highlight the ongoing #TimesUp movement against sexual harassment and inequality in the entertainment industry, a movement kickstarted at the Golden Globes in early January.
There had been speculation as to whether Kate Middleton would opt for black given the scale and momentum of the #TimesUp movement (despite a few Golden Globes attendees opting out for their own personal reasons), but in the end she opted out.
Why? Though the Duchess of Cambridge might privately support #TimesUp, as a member of the royal family, and therefore a figurehead of the British government, she must maintain a neutral stance about any political cause or movement.
That said, the Queen did wear a suspiciously pro-EU hat to open parliament last year (is she secretly horrified about Brexit and thought f*** it I’m 90 and I’ll do what I like? Who knows).
But one detail of Kate Middleton’s BAFTA outfit did appear to nod to the movement: her Jenny Packham dress was cut with a thin black velvet ribbon just below the bust. Though whether this is just the dress or a gesture of a solidarity will remain unclear.
Of course – as is the case with virtually every outfit scenario – things were a little more straightforward for Prince William, who tipped up in the universal men’s uniform of classic black tie.
The post Why Everyone Is Talking About What Kate Middleton Wore To The BAFTAs appeared first on Look Magazine.