Fashion journalist Alexandra Shulman has recounted being approached by a member of Kate Middleton's team shortly after her 2010 engagement to Prince William, asking for advice on which designers might be considered for her wedding dress. Shulman, then editor of British Vogue, describes the encounter as both an honour and a daunting task, given the historical weight and public scrutiny attached to royal wedding gowns, and the need for absolute secrecy around the chosen designer's identity.

Shulman recalls sitting with Catherine on the floor of a reception room at Clarence House, looking through pages torn from Vogue for inspiration, and explains that any designer would need to be British, highly skilled, and capable of working in total confidentiality to prevent leaks before the wedding. She contrasts this with her own hastily arranged 1994 wedding, for which she had just days to find an outfit after a sudden proposal, ending up in an ill-fitting Ghost dress and Dries van Noten shawl that she still regrets wearing.