KATE Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, has had a phenomenal effect on a St Albans-based clothing brand after it was widely reported across the globe that she had bought one of its dresses from a London high street store.
And that is despite there being no proof that Kate definitely bought the dress, as she has not yet been photographed wearing the £37 garment.
But that is not enough to stop the juggernaut that is described by David Kellard, who co-owns clothing brand Lovestruck with Jeremy Foster, as the “Kate effect”.
Both from St Albans, David and Jeremy were stunned when first contacted by members of the American press who said that paparazzi had seen Kate browsing, accompanied by her minders, at Top Shop in the capital.
She was understood, about 10 days ago, to have bought one of their Lovestruck dresses with its pretty floral pattern, which is being sold under concession at the store.
David explained: “The story came out that she had bought the dress and it went viral, and global.
“It was really good because since then we have had a massive surge on this particular dress. We’ve had over 500 orders since last Friday just for this dress and 100,000 online hits, which is phenomenal for us – our website has crashed twice, which apparently is a good thing!”
David and Jeremy have also been inundated with media queries and their story has appeared in various celebrity magazines, across the United Kingdom and the United States.
David added: “It has really put us on the map. We are now a world-wide brand.”
While they cannot confirm “100 per cent” that Kate did buy the garment, created by in-house designer Erika Shaw, they hope she will at some stage appear in national papers wearing their dress.
Designed for the spring season, the Lovestruck Deirdre dress is described as being beige with muted tones which, because of its popularity, will shortly be available in other colours.
Kate, who is expecting a baby, has been praised in national papers for showing her support for high street stores, and buying affordable clothes.
Jeremy and David are also co-owners of Funkrock, a fashion store on the ground floor of the Galleria in Hatfield.
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