Updated |

  |  

By Odd Anderen, AFP/Getty Images

Catherine Middleton waves as she arrives at Westminster Abbey.

By Odd Anderen, AFP/Getty Images

Catherine Middleton waves as she arrives at Westminster Abbey.

Posted | Updated

Kate Middleton's wedding dress is 'a triumph'

The Dress is officially out of the royal garment bag.

More than a billion eyes were on Kate Middleton as she stepped out of the queen's 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI in front of London's Westminster Abbey on Friday wearing a wedding dress of fairy-tale princess-esque proportions — a dress that will be immortalized in fashion history.

The big reveal was the culmination of what was perhaps the tightest-kept piece of information pertaining to her royal wedding to Prince William.

For five months, the sartorial secret remained securely under wraps, causing a flurry of speculation about who the designer would be and what the dress would look like. When the big moment finally came, Middleton's dream dress did not disappoint. And for chosen designer Sarah Burton, the 36-year-old creative director of luxury British label Alexander McQueen, it will surely go down as a career-defining moment.

PHOTOS: The royal wedding in pictures BLOG: Minute-by-minute updates MORE: Royal Wedding Central LIVE FROM: The latest from London

Middleton emerged from her wedding-eve residence of the Goring Hotel around 10:55 a.m. local time. Despite a tent set up to obscure the view, the lacy, long-sleeved,exposition fondation cartier paris, sweetheart-neckline gown with lace overlay could be glimpsed. With an ivory silk tulle veil trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers, sparkling tiara and her hair swept half up, Middleton was the picture of princess perfection. It took some adjusting to fold the almost-9-foot train into the car, where she was seated next to her father, Michael Middleton.

The full-skirted dress was on magnificent display when she entered the abbey. The ivory satin bodice of Middleton's dress was cut low in the back, but lace covered her bare skin. Great care was taken in constructing the lace, a task that went to the Royal School of Needlework. According to details posted on the official royal wedding website, "the workers washed their hands every 30 minutes to keep the lace and threads pristine, and the needles were renewed every three hours to keep them sharp and clean."

"I think it's magnificent," says Vogue European editor at large Hamish Bowles, who compared the styling to the dress Grace Kelly wore when she wed Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. It "entirely lived up to and exceeds anyone's expectations," says Bowles, who adds that "it's a marvelous tribute to British design that she would choose Sarah Burton, who's doing such a sensational job carrying the torch of McQueen's visionary talent."

The dress is "essentially traditional," says Bowles. "It's a traditional style, but it's been tweaked in a nuanced way." Crafted from ivory and white satin gazar, the dress was a smart fabric choice, says Bowles. "It has great body and stiffness and architectural drama, but it's very light and airy. … It's perfect and highly sophisticated." All in all, Bowles deems the dress "a triumph."

Fashion designer Lela Rose, whose collections include a bridal line, was surprised by the dress design. "The choice of materials and the shape were extremely traditional," says Rose. "I think the dress is perfectly beautiful but somewhat uninspired. … Knowing it's coming from Sarah Burton — and she is so enormously talented — I expected a little bit more of pushing the envelope."

While Rose deems the craftsmanship and workmanship "impeccable," she says she "definitely expected something more modern and fresh with more fashion in it. … She looks beautiful, but the choice was too safe for me."

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, Burton was by far the favorite in the odds of who would make the dress. A fur-hooded woman thought to be Burton was snapped Thursday ducking inside the Goring Hotel. But sworn to secrecy, in March both Burton and McQueen CEO Jonathan Akeroyd denied claims that she had been commissioned to design the dress. Clarence House refused to comment. And what's the harm in telling a tiny white lie when you've landed that job?

In a corporate announcement issued by Alexander McQueen shortly after the ceremony, Burton called the dress commission "an incredible honor" and "the experience of a lifetime."

"Understandably,cartier paris 6, Catherine has been very keen to keep the details of her dress a secret, which is every bride's prerogative, and we gave an undertaking to keep our role confidential until the day of the wedding," the statement says.

The royal wedding website says Middleton chose McQueen "for the beauty of its craftsmanship and its respect for traditional workmanship and the technical construction of clothing. Miss Middleton wished for her dress to combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterizes Alexander McQueen's work." It also says Middleton "worked closely" with Burton on the design.

Much like David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the husband-and-wife designer duo commissioned to create the oversized and outrageous wedding dress that Princess Diana wore when she wed Prince Charles in 1981, the designer will always be tied to the historic nuptials. Burton also designed the sleek, cowl-necked dress worn by Pippa Middleton, the bride's younger sister, who served as maid of honor.

Like Diana's dress, the newest royal bride's is certain to spark a trend in wedding gowns — perhaps even reshape the bridal industry — for years to come, with knockoff artists waiting in the wings to quickly replicate the design.

Nothing, however, will compare to the real thing. Middleton got a one-of-a-kind couture creation from someone who honed her skills under McQueen himself. The Manchester-raised Burton began her fashion career at the design house as an intern in 1996. She was appointed head of womenswear in 2000 and acted as McQueen's right-hand fashion aide until his suicide in February 2010. Burton took control of the luxury British label last May and, in October, unveiled her first collection in Paris to much praise. "Succeeding Mr. McQueen is a difficult undertaking,cartier bague trinity prix," wrote New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn. "Yet Ms. Burton showed two valuable qualities. She was modest about what she chose to take on; some references to the McQueen craft and drama are necessarily, but her choices reflected a gradual transition."

Burton's designs also made headlines after Michelle Obama wore a billowing red-and-black Alexander McQueen dress to a state dinner for China in January. Other celebrity clients include Cate Blanchett, Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Burton's fashion education included a foundation course at Manchester Polytechnic before moving to London to study Print Fashion at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. She graduated in 1997.