Kate Middleton brought the names Alexander McQueen and Sarah Burton to the forefront of everyone's minds after she wore a Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen creation for her royal wedding. She then helped boost the sales of British retailer Reiss by wearing their dresses, which inevitably sold out within hours, on several high-profile occasions. At least one publication is now claiming that British label Burberry is enjoying increased sales and popularity because of the duchess.
As reported by Mail Online, Burberry's revenues increased by 21 percent during the last three months of 2011, an impressive feat considering the ongoing global recession. The Duchess of Cambridge famously wore a Burberry trench coat during her highly publicized tour of Belfast, Ireland back in March before her wedding in April. The trench coat, from Burberry’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection, was made of light wool, double-breasted and ended with a frilled, flared hem. She wore the trench coat for practically the entire day as she and Prince William met with politicians, greeted members of the general public and even flipped some pancakes in honor of Pancake Day. Despite the trench coat’s very high cost, $995, popular sizes sold out instantly in the UK. Imitations from lower-cost retailers soared as fashionistas with less financial means sought to look like the duchess.
While the Duchess of Cambridge certainly helped boost the British label's visibility, it's questionable whether their recent success has anything to do with her. The fashion label instead credits their success on well-placed stores, supply chain improvements and heavy marketing on social media platforms such as Facebook. The label's Facebook page is indeed updated constantly for their 10 million Facebook fans. Campaigns featuring such worldwide stars as Kate Moss, Emma Watson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley have also certainly helped. The ad for Burberry’s new scent, Body, featured a naked Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wearing nothing underneath an opened trench coat. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is a British model turned movie star who recently starred in 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon with Shia La Beouf. They also gave away samples of the new fragrance to their Facebook fans. The label clearly knows how to market itself in an age of heightened sexuality and social media.
As someone who favors British labels and designers, Kate Middleton may very well wear another Burberry item soon. Who knows, perhaps it'll be one of their iconic scarves or handbags, two items that are instantly recognizable with their Tartan style checkerboard patterns.
