By now, no one doubts the power Princess Kate has in the fashion world. Every garment she wears, every designer she chooses, ends up generating millions.
The phenomenon has been baptized as “the Kate economy” or Kate Effect” and it is not just a popular expression.
Kate Middleton’s Fashion Power
According to Vogue UK, her influence represents about a billion pounds a year for the British industry, a figure that began to grow since that blue dress she wore in her first official act as Prince William’s fiancée. It cost 385 pounds and disappeared from the stores in a matter of hours.
The effect has been constant. When Kate chose a yellow Emilia Wickstead dress for Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, sales soared.
The same happened with her iconic Alexander McQueen wedding dress, which tripled the firm’s profits in 2011.
More recently, in the midst of a 2024 marked by her cancer diagnosis and a reduced public schedule, her appearance at Wimbledon with daughter Charlotte and a purple Safiyaa dress generated £4.8 million in revenue for the brand.
While Kate often turns to established fashion houses such as Burberry, McQueen and Jenny Packham, she has also pushed lesser-known labels such as Reiss and Whistles.
One of these firms even renamed a blouse after her after seeing her at one of her events.
In addition, many independent stores take advantage of her influence by replicating the designs she wears, generating accessible options for other audiences and broadening the commercial impact.
Interestingly, despite this measurable effect, Kensington Palace has stopped sharing details about her wardrobe.
The intention is to focus attention on its institutional work, not its image. Still, the numbers speak for themselves.
Brands follow her like a talisman and her choice of attire remains a source of income and visibility that few public figures manage to match.