Kate Middleton: how you can rent Catherine's eye-catching Earthshot Prize dress and the story behind her emerald choker

It seems unthinkable that you or I could rent and wear the exact same designer dress Catherine, Princess of Wales, wore to The Earthshot Prize awards, but it is now possible.

Catherine looked absolutely incredible in the ‘Sabina’ Solace London green dress she wore for The Earthshot Prize which she accessorised with an emerald choker that once belonged to her late, mother-in-law, Princess Diana. The Queen Mary ‘Delhi Durbar Art Deco Emerald Choker’ was the perfect colour for Catherine’s dress. It is reported to cost almost $20 million in today’s currency.

Princess Diana wore the necklace slightly differently to the way Catherine did, she wore it on her head as a bandeau during a dance with King Charles (then Prince Charles) in Australia in 1985.

The reason why it is called the ‘Delhi Durbar’ choker is reported to be because Queen Mary received the diamond and emerald necklace as a gift in 1911 during the Delhi Darbar.

Now, back to the world of rental fashion…

In the last year, there has been an incredible boom in the fashion rental market and the likes of rental sites such as HURR, By Rotation and My Wardrobe HQ have all benefited.

The success of the fashion rental market has undoubtedly a lot to do with the general public becoming more mindful of how they dress and how much they spend on their outfits. This appears to have filtered through to the celebrity world and now it would seem, the royal world too.

People World profiles three fashion rental sites in the UK that are reaping the rewards of the more mindful fashion choices women today are now considering:

HURR

Yes, this is the very company where you can rent Kate Middleton’s exact dress she wore to The Earthshot Prize awards. The Sabina dress, which is from Solace London, is available to rent between £74 and £194. Can you imagine how special you would feel wearing the same dress as royalty to a wedding or black-tie affair?

HURR was set up in 2017 by the company’s CEO Victoria Prever. On the company’s website, it explains that Victoria created HURR after realising that “fast fashion has created a demand for ‘newness’ that has no place in a sustainable fashion.”

After realising that ‘something had to be done,’ Victoria decided to launch HURR to ensure that women could ‘still get their kicks from the latest luxury trends and pieces, without burning a hole in their pocket or the planet.’

My Wardrobe HQ

MWHQ first launched in November 2019 with a selection of designer collections and accessories from the likes of Chanel, Saint Laurent and Givenchy. As well as featuring clothing and accessories, it also has a section for men, kids, and bridal.

Carrie Johnson, the wife of former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has long been a fan of My Wardrobe HQ, and wore a number of their dresses for the G7 three-day summit, which took place in Cornwall last year.

Carrie even went one step further than renting dresses for high profile events by opting to wear a rented bridal dress for her big day. Carrie rented a stunning Christos Costarellos wedding gown for a reported £45 only. Yes, you read that correctly. £45. The price of a Costarellos dress normally retails for a couple of thousand pounds on designer sites such as Net-a-Porter.

By Rotation

By Rotation was created by their founder Eshita Kabra-Davies whilst she was actually on honeymoon. According to their website, she ‘witnessed the first-hand effects of textile waste during her honeymoon to her motherland Rajasthan, India. Whilst Eshita was there, ‘she immediately knew that something was wrong with one of her passions in life: fashion.’

In October 2019, Eshita launched By Rotation, which appears to be going from strength to strength.