Queen Mary’s wedding dressmaker reveals process behind iconic gown
The Danish designer and dressmaker who designed Queen Mary’s wedding gown has recalled the “rather terrifying” process of making the iconic dress.
Birgit Hallstein created the custom gown for the Aussie-born royal for her to marry Prince Frederik in 2004, as the designer recalled having to adhere to an unusual royal tradition when creating the dress.
Hallstein said that she put the finishing touches on the dress on the wedding day: a decision that was mentioned to her by Mary's new mother-in-law, Queen Margrethe.
Hallstein admits the old tradition, which involves doing the final loops and stitches the morning of the wedding, also helped her process in the long run.
"[It] was a thing I did because it's a tradition in some families, but honestly I don't remember if Queen Margrethe would have mentioned such a thing," Hallstein told 9Honey.
"Maybe, because she knows a lot of those things... I am sure we talked about it, but anyway it was practical to gather the dress on the day because it's big."
The process for Hallstein began in November 2003, as she admitted it was the most important garment she had ever worked on.
"It was rather terrifying," she admitted with a laugh.
"It's a bit like an exam, just a really big one, because if you fail everyone will see."
Hallstein worked in a dedicated space at Amalienborg Palace to deliver the gown as well as the outfits worn by the bridesmaids, page boys and flower girls.
"The sewing took hundreds of hours, starting in January 2004 and ending right before the wedding," she recalled.
There was also the added pressure of adhering to royal traditions and protocols around the use of the antique veil and the lace attachment to the petticoat, which was from Queen Margrethe's private collection.
"There are rules to follow, [you're] not allowed to cut in it and only skilled repairs [are allowed]," Hallstein said.
"I had to hide around two or three metres of the antique lace in between layers of organza inside the dress to make sure it was not damaged by high heels, chairs, cars and carriages during the day."
In a social media post to mark 20 years since the world got their first look at the classic gown, the dressmaker explained to fans that "the wedding gown consists of three parts".
“There's a big tulle petticoat, edged with almost 60 yards of Chantilly lace, on this a big light blue silk bow were placed, to make sure the first born would be a son," she said.
Image credits: Hounsfield-Klein-Zabulon/ABACA/Shutterstock Editorial