Princess Charlene and Prince Albert: 'Runaway' Brides Dress

Giorgio Armani wanted modern dress for Charlene

Giorgio Armani wanted Charlene Wittstock’s wedding dress to be “completely modern”.

The Italian designer created the South African beauty’s gown she wore to marry Monaco’s Prince Albert II on Saturday and says he was conscious for the dress to be different from Albert’s late mother, Princess Grace.

Writing for vogue.com. Giorgio said: “The idea was to go for a completely modern look, without an obvious sense of nostalgia or revivalism. I felt this was appropriate given that there would inevitably be comparisons with Princess Grace, and though such comparisons are of course a sign of admiration, each person has their own individual and unique style, and style is an expression of the times.”

 

Giorgio says former Olympic swimmer Charlene was a pleasure to work with and the perfect muse, saying: “Charlene is without a shadow of a doubt very beautiful. Tall and slim, she is sporty and at the same time has a natural elegance about her. Dressing her is such a pleasure – she knows how to wear my creations with the nonchalance and confidence of youth. I believe Charlene has the ideal figure to show off great dresses, because they highlight the fine curves and beautiful structure of her back and shoulders.”

The dress took 2,500 hours to create, including 700 hours for the embroidery alone, and featured 40,000 Swarovski crystals, 20,000 mother of pearl teardrops and 30,000 stones in gold shades.

Brigitte Bardot Voted Most Stylish Woman Ever

– ALMOST A THIRD OF BRITS VOTED BRIGITTE BARDOT MOST STYLISH WOMAN OF ALL TIME – BEATING VICTORIA BECKHAM & CHERYL COLE TO TOP SPOT
– 62% POLLED ADMIT FRENCH WOMEN ARE MOST STYLISH OF ALL TIME
– PARIS VOTED WORLD’S MOST STYLISH CITY, CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY MILAN

French actress Brigitte Bardot has been voted the most stylish woman of all time in a new UK-wide poll.

The 1960’s film star outscored a bevy of beauties, including a number of dazzling British female style icons, to land the crown as the world’s most stylish woman.

She polled almost three out of every 10 votes cast (29.5%) in the nationwide poll of 3,000 Brits across the UK by iconic orange soft drink Orangina.

Legendary English rose and Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor, who sadly died this year, came a very close second, with just a few percentage points between her and Bardot.

Bardot, the former fashion model, actress and singer, is now aged 76 and is a world-renowned animal rights activist. But in her 1960’s heyday she was lauded across the world as the epitome of glamorous French style, with her dress sense and iconic hairstyle copied in shops, fashion houses and hair salons in across the globe.

The poll results also illustrate that the English can’t help but admire the French for their cutting-edge style.

A massive 62% of those polled said that France was quite rightly renowned as the home of the most stylish women throughout history.

Famous French women such as fashion queen Coco Chanel, actresses such as Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Béart, and former model now president’s wife Carla Bruni, have helped establish French femmes as the leading lights in the global style stakes, according to those polled in the national study.

Paris also won the vote for the world’s most stylish city too, beating Milan into second place, New York into third and London into fourth.

Orangina spokesman, Steven Simpson, said: “The British and the French may have had their differences historically, but it is clear the French sense of style hasn’t been lost on the British.

“Brigitte Bardot is the epitome of classic French styling and despite being out of the limelight for all these years, she is still held up as a style icon.

“She was the pin-up girl for a golden age and has never been forgotten in France and, it seems, in Britain. The fact that she still ranks higher in style terms than some of Britain’s won modern style queens says it all.”

The top ten most stylish women of all time are-

Brigitte Bardot
Elizabeth Taylor
Victoria Beckham
Cheryl Cole
Joan Collins
Audrey Hepburn
Grace Kelly
Sophia Loren
Marilyn Monroe
Princess Diana