Kate Forces the Focus to Her Work
but, oops! I still want to talk about the fashion
If "no comment" were an outfit, it would be the one that the Princess of Wales just wore to visit the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Kate was joined by kindergarteners from All Souls Church of England Primary School today, February 4th, to highlight a new initiative from her early childhood development project. The children were at the NPG to experience the Bobeam Tree Trail, an interactive experience designed to help them express their emotions through art. Kate’s “Shaping Us” Campaign recently released a new framework giving caregivers tools to help foster social and emotional learning.
Read more on the engagement and initiative over at People.
For the occasion, Kate opted for an outfit that ironically directly corresponded to recent claims from Palace Sources that the Firm would no longer brief on her fashion because they wanted the focus to be on her work.
Roya Nikkhah hit us with that “palace exclusive” in the Sunday Times this weekend. She quotes an insider at Kensington Palace, saying, “There is an absolute feeling that it [the public work] is not about what the princess is wearing. She wants the focus to be on the really important issues—the people and the causes she is spotlighting.”
The source acknowledged, “The style is there, but it’s about the substance.” It’s not exactly shocking that the Princess of Wales might shift her personal priorities after going through something as life-altering as chemotherapy. And wanting the conversation to center on the substance of her work rather than the aesthetics of her wardrobe isn’t an unreasonable ask. Get ready for a lot of neutrals in Kate’s wardrobe for 2025, I guess.
But doing it in this way feels a little like…oh, I don’t know, enacting 25% tariffs on foreign imports to force Americans to buy from U.S.-made products without first setting up any infrastructure or incentive to support American producers and craftspeople. The intention might be to shift focus, but without a well-thought-out strategy, all it does is create confusion and frustration.
Likewise, the Palace’s attempt to strip the fashion-forward focus from Kate’s public image—without offering a compelling alternative for how she communicates her role—leaves a glaring gap. The Firm wants us to ignore what has always been an integral part of her appeal…but they haven't given us anything new to focus on instead. Kate’s work is admirable but hasn’t yet stepped up to the realm of “impactful.” Social media captions and press briefings from Kensington Palace have, historically, been vague and word-salady.
What I mean to say is: the Palace’s apparent attempt to dismiss Kate’s style choices as a mere distraction feels misguided—especially when fashion has long been one of Kate’s most effective tools for communication. And that brings us to this outfit…
To visit the NPG and highlight the new Shaping Us framework, Kate wore a charcoal turtleneck underneath an oversized brown blazer paired with equally voluminous pinstripe trousers. It was the visual equivalent of a shrug. Not good, not bad, just there. Fashion as pure utility.
A non-outfit designed to say nothing, but in doing so, making an even louder statement.
Kensington Palace may want us to stop paying attention to Kate’s fashion, but fashion is a form of communication—whether they like it or not. The irony is that even when the Palace insists we ignore it, the clothing still speaks. And this outfit said, “no comment” in its visual cues (or lack thereof). A complete rejection of the power that personal style holds—an attempt to erase it altogether.
Yet, as Succession has taught me, “no comment,” in itself, is a comment.
Stripped of embellishment, leaving all hints of Kate’s sparkly personality to her facial expressions alone, the look reinforced the message that she was here to work—but in doing so, only drew more attention to the very thing we’re apparently supposed to ignore.
Because here’s the thing: the Palace doesn’t get to dictate what people take away from Kate’s appearances. They can’t control the conversation by simply declaring that one of her most consistent messaging tools—her wardrobe—is suddenly off-limits.
As someone with an art history degree and a background in museum education, I usually love the way that Kate dresses for museum visits and interactions with kids in a classroom setting. Her clothing choices have historically shown awareness of her surroundings, respect for the institution she’s visiting, and even a bit of joy in engaging with art and learning.
But this, today, was a complete departure. A choice that actively ignored the potential for connection.
Frankly, it’s a little offensive! Not just to people like me, who appreciate the intersection of fashion, art, and storytelling, but to the very audience Kate is meant to engage with. The Palace’s messaging and the Princess of Wales’ pared-back wardrobe indicate that engagements where she meets with children, educators, or even cancer patients are just work to her—tasks to be completed, boxes to be checked.
By extension, then, the conclusion is that the way she presents herself at these events doesn’t matter. That’s an incredibly dismissive attitude toward the human element of these visits, underlined by journalists like Chris Chip who gleefully declared this weekend that they never cared about the fashion, anyway:
Clothing isn’t just about vanity—it’s a tool for connection. Kate has used fashion masterfully in the past to show warmth, to pay tribute, and to make people feel seen. But now, in an effort to present her as a “serious” royal, the Palace is stripping away an essential part of what makes her effective in these moments. They’re pushing the idea that caring about her appearance is frivolous when, in reality, her appearance has always been an integral part of her role. This sudden pivot not only underestimates the intelligence of the public—it also diminishes the importance of the very work they claim to be prioritizing.
Fashion matters in these spaces, and it always has. No amount of Palace spin can change that.
They need to talk about the fashion, because frankly, Kate's work isn't substantive enough to talk about it so what else are they going to talk about? I'm interested to see how this continues over the next few weeks because I bet when she attends the BAFTA's, we get info about her clothing.
A misstep in my opinion. You know, she COULD spotlight small designers, or minority designers, or something else worthwhile, thus using fashion explicitly as substance. That outfit with the brown blazer is horrible.