Potential Royal Couture of the Day: July 11

The Fall 2014 Couture shows happened this week in Paris. Let's do what we do and gaze at some prettiness while making our wish lists for what we hope to see on our favorite royal ladies, shall we? (Click the designer names to see the whole collection.)

Wouldn't be a couture week without Elie Saab doing what he does best. Ornamentation galore combined with lots of ombré effect gowns (as though Elie Saab alone isn't enough of a weakness for me, I have a peculiar fondness for anything ombré, so I'm all over this). As always, the Luxembourg ladies are our best bet to see this in action, and if we cross our fingers maybe a Swedish princess will dip into the pool too.

Valentino put out a very romantic, Pre-Raphaelite-inspired collection. Keep an eye out for Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Princess Madeleine, Princess Marie-Chantal, Queen Máxima, Sheikha Mozah, and more.


Chanel delivered a typically artistic collection with inspiration from Karl Lagerfeld as intriguing as ever ("brutalist and baroque"). I include the video above for one purpose only: the very last look. I wouldn't be mad at all one of the ladies of Monaco wanted to don that fabulous train, wouldn't be mad at all. Pick any occasion, opening a yacht club, I don't even care. That is amazing.

Giambattista Valli's been rather popular with Crown Princess Mette-Marit of late, and Charlotte Casiraghi's been a fan in the past. I wouldn't mind this collection spreading to some other royal ladies too, with its bright florals and affection for full skirts and capes. You can look no further than the styling to see that it's practically screaming for some attention from Sheikha Mozah (head wraps and sunglasses, hello!).

This is just a selection from some of the designers already in the royal mix. Others to consider:
  • Christian Dior has dressed Queen Mathilde a couple times this year (for her French introductory visit and for the D-Day commemoration - both events in France, a perfect marriage since the French label is currently designed by a Belgian, Raf Simons). What we've seen on Mathilde so far has been totally bespoke and not from the runway, but others like Sheikha Mozah and Princess Haya are runway fans.
  • Armani Privé has been a go-to in the past for some of our royal ladies (Queen Mathilde and Queen Paola for special occasions, for example), though again, it's often totally custom work.
  • I'm still waiting for Ralph & Russo (a British label from two Australians) to make an appearance on our British royals, but Sheikha Mozah's already a fan.
What's on your royal wish list?

Photos: Style.com