The go-to British labels loved by royals – which you can buy too
The British social season has swung into action. We’re seven weeks away from Royal Ascot, Wimbledon is in two months… and what about all those summer weddings?
The country has been spoiled for occasion wear inspiration in recent years, with major royal events such as the Coronation offering an unrivalled platform for homegrown labels. Whether you need a cracking mother-of-the-bride look, want to wow in the Royal Enclosure, or are just hoping to find that one dress you can pull on any time to feel great, we introduce you to the designers you need to know.
Beulah
Lady Natasha Finch and Lavinia Richards started Beulah for reasons entirely unconnected to fashion. Through their church, they heard about an opportunity to volunteer with women in Delhi who had been victims of trafficking. Spending three months there, ‘we witnessed the power in creating employment opportunities to break that cycle, so we quite naively thought we’d set up a business inspired by the colours of India and the beautiful crafts’, says Finch now, perched on an upholstered stool inside their treasure-trove-like shop on Belgravia’s Elizabeth Street.
It’s a far cry from Richards’s mother’s basement in Fulham, where they were based at the beginning. ‘We had no fashion or business background, both of us had studied history of art at university,’ she reflects. What the two founders lacked in formal training, they made up for with their instincts for elegant designs that the high-society milieu would love.
The Princess of Wales was an early adopter, first wearing the label in 2011, the year after it launched (she now owns at least 10 dresses). Since then, Beulah’s Ahana frock, a neatly tailored fit-and-flare midi design which exemplifies the brand’s feminine and flattering codes, has become a modern regal classic, worn in various iterations by Princess Beatrice, Queen Mary of Denmark and the Crown Princess of Norway. Beatrice selected the puff-sleeved Sienna dress for last year’s Coronation.
Despite becoming a mainstay in high-profile wardrobes, Finch and Richards remain connected to the reasons they founded Beulah, citing receiving a UN commendation as one of their proudest achievements. ‘We’re both working mums, which has its own challenges, but actually, it’s really lovely showing our kids what it means to work hard,’ says Richards.
Many of their designs are still made in India now, and their biannual visits provide a neverending source of inspiration. ‘We love looking in local markets, going to the block printers and finding beautiful prints that we can then put our own stamp on,’ says Finch.
They also like to delve into their mothers’ wardrobes for vintage inspiration, ‘but we always want to modernise it and move it on; our customers don’t like too much frill, it’s getting that balance.’
Edeline Lee
Trust is a critical thing in high-stakes dressing, and nobody understands that better than Edeline Lee, who has become a go-to for elegant women who want to look their best without their clothes being a distraction. ‘I spend a lot of time in dressing rooms,’ she admits. ‘Often, designers will produce things that go to a store, and never see who’s actually bought them… Fitting women directly is one of the ways that we develop and learn. It becomes a very trusting relationship, I love it.’
Despite graduating from Central Saint Martins, and apprenticeships at Alexander McQueen and Dior, Lee’s own label happened almost by accident. ‘I made some clothes for a friend to present her jewellery – it was written up in Vogue, and women began asking me if they could buy them.’
She soon won a following among women in the art world. ‘They’re very specific about their needs,’ she says. ‘They travel a lot. Their clothes can’t wrinkle. They want to look feminine, but they need to look powerful and intelligent… The clothes need to be in service to them, as opposed to the other way around.’
Lee has never advertised; her business is built on word of mouth, and customers span a broad range of sizes and ages. ‘Often we’ll dress a grandmother, mother and a daughter.’
A textured Flou Bubble jacquard fabric, which doesn’t crease, has become a signature: ‘I can drape with it, I can tailor with it, it’s trans-seasonal, and it responds really well to colour.’ And everything is made in the UK.
No wonder that when the Prime Minister’s wife Akshata Murty hosted independent designers at 10 Downing Street in February, three members of the British Fashion Council board turned up in Edeline Lee. ‘We dress a lot of women for when they need to show up and perform. I always say, [my clothes] look best when the wearer is speaking.’
Lee is too discreet to discuss specific clients, but she counts the Princess of Wales and Olivia Colman among them. Lady Victoria Starmer wore Edeline Lee at the last Labour Party Conference. ‘We also dress a lot of Conservatives,’ Lee adds. ‘“Future Lady” is our tagline.’
Claire Mischevani
Claire Mischevani wants a trip to her atelier in Shrewsbury or her showroom in London to feel like a visit to an old friend. Often, this is genuinely the case. ‘We have such a massive amount of repeat business, with wonderful clients adding new pieces each season,’ she says. ‘We never advertise and are terrible at updating our social media accounts at the moment, as the whole team is so busy… I have made lifelong friends with so many clients, which is a truly treasured part of my business.’
Having swapped life as a lawyer for starting her label in 2001, Mischevani’s designs have become more high-profile than ever in the past couple of years. She’s a go-to for Akshata Murty and dressed Pippa Matthews (née Middleton) in a primrose-yellow coat-dress for the Coronation. This year, her focus is on the racing season and especially Royal Ascot. ‘We have seen sales soar by 400 per cent, which is astounding in the current climate, for which I am very grateful,’ she explains, adding that jumpsuits are quickly catching up with coat-and tea-dresses as bestsellers.
Design is in Mischevani’s genes: ‘I have always had a true love for fashion, from a very young age, having watched my grandmother design and create garments. She used to design costumes for The Beverley Sisters, among others. I would sit for hours sketching and pinning fabrics together. I watched movies with Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly; I loved their timeless elegance.’
Mischevani understands the juggle most of her clients are facing. She enjoys wearing her own clothes, ‘when I am not running around the Shropshire hills in my exercise gear, trying to keep fit’. And all her work is worth it when she sees ‘the beaming smile on a client’s face, or a happy tear in their eye, once they try their final outfit on; and the confidence that we have given them’.
Suzannah London
For Suzannah Crabb – best known in fashion circles simply as Suzannah – it all began with an appreciation for vintage couture. ‘James Galanos especially was a designer I loved,’ she remembers. Having worked as a designer and trend forecaster, a job that gave her access to the archive fabrics at Italian mills, Crabb decided to take the plunge and launch her own label 18 years ago, beginning with 10 dresses inspired by the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s silhouettes she loved.
‘My parents had their own business, so it was what I knew, what was in my blood,’ she says. ‘It was successful straight away. People wanted to invest in something extra special… they always want flattering shapes which are well made using really indulgent cloth.’
Proof of that success can be seen from the red carpet to racecourses and investitures (Dame Mary Berry wore the label to hers in 2021, as did Telegraph head of fashion Lisa Armstrong when collecting her OBE in 2022). If a single event could sum up Crabb’s VVIP appeal, it would be the Coronation, for which she dressed several guests and designed the gown worn by the Duchess of Edinburgh. ‘We worked with an embroiderer called Jenny King to create the textiles on top of our silhouette so it was a big piece of teamwork,’ Crabb says of the Duchess’s look, later reworn to a state banquet. ‘We also dressed Lady Louise. So I loved the mother and daughter aspect of it.’
The King’s goddaughter India Hicks, one of the BBC’s commentators, also chose a tailored grey Suzannah London coat-dress. ‘She looked so elegant… I felt the whole day just showed off what we could do as a small British company. I can’t say I enjoyed it at the time because I was completely nervous. But in hindsight, that was a really good moment.’
Crabb’s clients come to Suzannah, she believes, because ‘we know what’s appropriate, what flatters, but still looks modern, chic and relevant… We don’t want to take people out of their comfort zones, we’re just pushing them a little bit.’ This year, she’s dressing them for holidays, too; a new Vacation Collection is full of dolce vita designs so fabulous it wouldn’t be surprising to see them in the next season of The White Lotus.
Laura Green
Laura Green cut her teeth with an internship at American Vogue (‘I managed the wardrobe and got to see so many incredible pieces coming in and out,’ she recalls, insisting it didn’t quite live up to The Devil Wears Prada stereotype: ‘Everyone was lovely’). She then worked for a decade at one of the most traditional (and discreet) names in British couture, where she was responsible for pieces worn by some of the most photographed women in the world.
It was becoming a mother that prompted her to strike out on her own, beginning with a studio in her garden in 2018. Now she works with a small team, creating pieces from her south-west London atelier that are about much more than just occasion dressing. ‘Often women come to me because they need a mother-of-the-bride outfit and they say, “Laura, I’ve come to you because I don’t want to look like a mother of the bride,” and I love that. We’ll make something she can wear again, perhaps to the office with a pair of trousers, or a coat that fits into her everyday life.’
One of the most high-profile women to wear Green’s designs to date is Zara Tindall, who has turned to her for Royal Ascot, Christmas at Sandringham and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. Green’s modern, precise tailoring compliments the streamlined and elegant new look Tindall has been showcasing lately. Proof of Green’s ageless appeal? She put both Tindall and Dame Joanna Lumley (for her investiture) in searing shades of magenta and both looked, well, absolutely fabulous. And as deftly as she can do high-impact, she can do the kind of great suit that many working women would love as an office staple.
‘We love to put clients at ease,’ says Green. ‘We love to listen to their requirements, but I’m always ensuring that [an item] sits well in their wardrobe after the occasion they’ve come in for, so it’s a piece they enjoy for years to come.’
She is just as excited when they come to her for Wimbledon as Royal Ascot. ‘Wimbledon is a great one for us, because we get to see our clothes worn for a more low-key event which just shows how wearable they are. It’s not just about the obvious occasions.’
Get the look
Where to shop for high-impact occasion wear with a wide range of price tags
If a brand-new designer outfit is beyond your means, all is not lost. From the high street to rental sites, a lemonade budget can create a Champagne occasion-wear look. Victoria Barnes, buyer for branded fashion at John Lewis, says, ‘Our customer is looking for a statement – that could be ruffles, a bright colour or a bold print, or appliqué fabrics.’ She tips Sister Jane and Florere among her labels to watch, and recommends an in-store styling appointment to take your outfit to the next level. And don’t forget that searching the names you love on Vinted, Depop and eBay can mix up your options further still.
Linen mix jumpsuit, ￡268, Reiss; Three Graces London midi dress, rent from ￡55, Rites
Linen mix jumpsuit, ￡120, Nobody’s Child; Aje pleated dress, rent from ￡58.50, Hurr
Polka-dot dress, ￡265, Kitri; Tiered Dress, ￡175, Sister Jane
Linen long-line waistcoat, ￡139, Mint Velvet; Trousers, ￡149
Whistles waistcoat, ￡109; Trousers, ￡119; Blazer, ￡159
Rose print dress, ￡149, Ro&Zo