Meet the Stylist Behind Kate Middleton’s Bold New Looks
By Katie Nicholl
When the Duchess of Cambridge stepped out looking more red-carpet glam than mumsy recently, there were whispers about her new look.
Now Royal Watch can reveal Kate’s secret weapon in the wardrobe department: her P.A. turned stylist.
Natasha Archer, a 27-year-old personal assistant at Kensington Palace, has been helping Kate shop and experiment with some sophisticated new looks, according to sources.
Royal Watch has been told that it is Natasha who has steered the Duchess toward glamorous gowns, like the Alice Temperley and Jenny Packham evening frocks she wore to her recent engagements.
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The Duchess, who is around 14-weeks pregnant with her second baby, wants to be seen as on-trend and fashion forward, and doesn’t want to look older than her age. She will turn 33 next year.
Natasha, who is known as “Tash” at Kensington Palace, is now said to be a key member of Team Kate.
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“Initially Kate was a reluctant fashion icon, but now she enjoys it. Tash helps source some of the clothes. She shops a lot for Kate online, and calls in hundreds of dresses for Kate to try on,” a source close to Tash tells Royal Watch. “She has persuaded Kate to take some more risks. The hemlines are shorter and Kate’s really pushing the boat out in the fashion stakes.”
While Natasha has been helping out, palace sources say the final choice is always Kate’s. The Duchess wowed the notoriously hard-to-please fashion brigade with her knock-out jade crepe Packham dress, which she wore to the Natural History Museum earlier this month. She also dazzled in a risqué cut-out Temperley frock that showed off her fabulous legs at another official engagement.
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photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty images