by “You’re 15, not 50,” sighed Carole Middleton, played by Eve Best, in her first scene in The Crownthe sixth and final season. The character is out shopping with her daughter Kate and those four words immediately show why, when it came to dressing the two women, Amy and Sid Roberts, costume designer and associate costume designer respectively on a play, had some crossover Netflix.
With a hint of the Ab Fab Saffy vs Edina dynamic, we soon see that the wise teenager and her more confident and bolder mother meet somewhere in the middle when it comes to her style choices.
“We really enjoyed doing Carole,” says Sid, “Eve Best brought something else to it.” When it comes to dressing the future queen mother, the starting point is not the same as Kate, played by Meg Bellamy herself. “We tried to make a mature version of Kate,” explains Sid.
“In their first scene, some of the clothes for Kate and Carole are interchangeable. It is understood that her mother may have borrowed a puffer gilet so they wore the same gilet throughout the series. It’s the same low-slung jeans, Sloaney sweaters and pointy boots with stiletto heels. Carole’s belts are not as wide as Kate’s.” She sums up the mood, which closely resembles pictures of Kate and Carole taken in the 2000s, as pretty much a “riding mom”.
Although the debate continues about the accuracy of the The CrownIn fact, we can be sure that the costume designers are absolutely right in their assumption that the Middleton women share clothes because we still see them wearing similar – and sometimes identical – items even now.
In 2022, Carole arrived at Royal Ascot wearing the same two-tone pink Me + Em dress that Kate first wore in 2020 and then again at the Chelsea Flower Show this summer. Over the years both women have seen Boden coats and Goat dresses and love Catherine Walker’s subtle and classic accessories, ladylike midi dresses and casual but polished jeans and jumpers.
Back when Kate was William’s girlfriend, the tight-knit nature of the Middleton family was clear when she and Carole were seen out together in almost identical “uniforms” of tailored coats or country casual looks, consisting of the same tasselled boots, suede jackets. or gilets and delicate jewellery.
Sid’s favorite was Princess Anne. She enlisted Claudia Harrison, the actress who plays the Princess Royal in the last two seasons of the show, to make it her mission to include some of Anne’s famous stories in her scenes. As well as recreating the turquoise dress that Anne retrieved from the back of her wardrobe for Charles’ 2005 wedding to Camilla, having first worn it in 1991, she was determined to wear Anne’s famous sunglasses on our screens.
“I cringed a bit when I watched episode 10 and she wears Adidas sunglasses,” says Sid. “Neither Claudia nor I knew where to wear them but the great thing about Princess Anne is that she wears them anywhere, not just when they’re appropriate. So there was a great scene where she is chatting with Prince Philip on the balcony. We had to show the director the pictures of the real Princess Anne wearing the glasses because he had no idea why they would be thrown on a balcony, they are so sci-fi and spacey.”
For Sid, it was the highlight of the four seasons she worked on The Crown. “If we could do a whole show just on Princess Anne, I’d be happy,” she laughs, adding that the princess’s “Amish” headscarves would have to be prominently featured as part of a spin-off.
Amy and Sid, who preferred to ignore the fact that they were mother and daughter, presented The Crown from the late 1970s to the present denial in 2005. As I speak to them, they are in the middle of a final publicity push which saw them just hosting an event at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with their creations displayed among Rembrandts and Vermeers.
A large number of costumes were produced for the show; 800 custom outfits have been made and 500 looks have been worn by Queen Elizabeth alone. These include headscarves and Prada-esque blouses in a beautiful hollow print painted by Sid and worn by Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.
For Amy, the biggest thrill is the opportunity to “show warm, personal and tender personal moments between two people”, as we see with the sisters in episode eight of the new series alongside the “huge and exciting visual world” of a crowd scene. using an additional 400.
But what to do with everything from the ball gowns and tailored suits, down to the loose buttons and the rolls and rolls of fabric left over now that filming is over? Bonhams is auctioning some notable pieces (including Diana’s recreated “revenge” dress and a Missoni cardigan that Sid bought for Princess Anne and wishes she could keep for herself), with proceeds going towards a scholarship new Crown at the National Film and Television School. Other items have been selected by the V&A to go into their archive or sold at a reduced price to costume houses that Amy and Sid wanted to support.
The rest will be donated to organizations across the country who can put everything to good use, whether they are charities such as Smart Works (a partner of The Telegraph which once included the Duchess of Sussex as a patron), which will provide work-appropriate pieces for women going to job interviews as they try to re-enter the workplace, and Migrants Organise, where fabrics will be used for sewing classes where members can learn English along with new skills.
It was important to Amy and Sid to donate to Hull Sisters, who provide a safe space for vulnerable women, because, says Amy, “we had a really great experience up in Hull as a filming location to recreate London 1945. The people above are great and the council has been really helpful so it seemed like a great way to give something back to them.” Gratitude, a charity based in Borehamwood near Elstree Studios, will also receive a donation for its craft activities.
Sid admits that “nepotism is a big part of the reason I’m where I am” so by making these charitable gifts, they’re finding a way to “help from within” and give others the opportunities she’s had enjoy being part of one of the best on Netflix. famous creations.
Costumes are one of the most popular aspects of it The Crown, with 41 percent of Gen Z viewers saying the clothes are their favorite thing. “Clothes just make a family that is otherwise viewed, especially with the Gen Z generation, old-fashioned and out of date,” points out Sid. If there’s a sudden spike in sci-fi sunglasses sales next week, we know who to thank.
