The long-rumoured yet never-quite-confirmed designer of Kate Middleton's wedding dress, Sarah Burton, took over as creative director of the Alexander McQueen label in May 2010, following its founder's suicide in February of that year.
Burton is renowned for her technical expertise and romantic and artistic sensibility – and lately for her efforts at subterfuge, too. Indeed, Burton's discretion is believed to have helped her win the coveted dress commission. The 36-year-old Mancunian had taken great pains to hide her identity in the build-up to the wedding.
But the game was effectively up the evening before, when Burton was photographed entering the Goring hotel, where Kate Middleton was staying, wearing a fur trapper hat that obscured her face yet which fashion insiders immediately identified as Burton's.
The designer, finally unveiled, was on hand to fold the train into the car as the bride travelled to the abbey, and then again inside the cathedral to tweak the train just before she walked up the aisle.
Burton, who was already a highly respected international designer within fashion circles, is now destined to become a household name. Her first two collections at the helm of Alexander McQueen have been praised for respecting the theatrical and detailed craftsmanship for which the brand is famous, while also taking it in a more feminine, delicate direction.
Raised in Manchester before moving to London to complete her studies at Central St Martins college, Burton joined the McQueen studio as an intern in 1996 on the suggestion of her tutor, then returned after her graduation. In 2000 she was appointed head of womenswear and acted as McQueen's right hand confident until his death.
She admitted taking over from McQueen at the head of a label was "an intimidating prospect", but it will have prepared the quietly spoken designer for a challenge that has had the world watching.
In her statement released moments after the ceremony, Burton said working on the design had been "the experience of a lifetime". But it is unlikely that she will aim to cash in on her status as a wedding designer superstar – she noted in her statement that she will not be giving interviews in the coming days. Rather, Burton, who is arguably now as famous as her late predecessor, is hoping she can remain out of the spotlight while her work speaks for her.
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