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Mirror Magazine

New face of Royal style

The British Royals have a new style icon in their midst.

When Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne was first glimpsed outside Westminster Abbey, solemn in a severe, black number (which enhanced her pale, translucent, chiselled loveliness), that much became clear. There was something about the angle of her hat, the cut of her dress and the way her coat hung from her athletic frame.

Then there were the pearl studs (which, as a rule, should never be worn by the under-forties) and the "clean team" make-up. A nation of celebrity style obsessives collectively braced themselves for an eternity of deconstructing every look Zara throws, every label Zara patronises, every hair statement Zara makes.

And it's not just the Brits who have noticed her potential: Recently she appeared on a list of the "50 most beautiful people in the world", compiled by the American magazine, People. Zara was listed alongside Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts, with the comment: "The blonde 5ft 5in knockout continues to update the face of the stuffy Windsor family."

The Windsors, unlike say, the Grimaldis, do not have a blissful association with inherent, instinctive chic. Which is a shame, because, as Diana proved, aristo roots combined with arch good looks and a clever way with a capsule wardrobe are a compelling proposition. There's been Lady Helen Taylor, the one-time style consultant to Calvin Klein who, for the past two years, has served as Giorgio Armani's "London representative" (read, willowy, walking advert). But she's proved a little too low-profile to adequately fill the iconic void left by Diana. Can Zara deliver where Lady Helen didn't quite?

It's certainly the talk of the fashion industry. Roland Mouret, designer of the most achingly chic frocks around, is particularly enamoured by her.

"I think she is a fantastic woman," he says. "I love the light in her eyes. I would love to dress her." He is not alone. Rumour has it that every designer label worth its Bond Street ground rent is banging down the door of Zara's Gloucestershire base, offering thousands of pounds and endless freebies in return for her exclusive services as a fashion ambassador.

According to Bronwyn Cosgrave, features editor at Vogue, this is only to be expected. Zara offers designers the full package: a contemporary edge on a venerable, inherently aspirational association. "What struck me was that she looked really modern. She's not a fusty old Royal," says Cosgrave. "She's a horsewoman, but she's also into yoga and acting. She's got a lean, clean American style. There's a hint of Park Avenue Princess about Zara. Michael Kors should be lining up to dress her."

Within the horsy set, however, Zara's style-queen status is largely unappreciated.

According to BBC sports presenter Claire Balding (who has known Zara for a couple of years), "the racing world is not that fashion-conscious". She says Zara is to be commended on eschewing the crowd's traditional aesthetic. "Zara hasn't fallen into the trap of wearing what racing women normally wear - those awful tweedy suits. She wears what she wants to wear, and turns up looking better than anyone else."

Balding is convinced that much of Zara's style is a by-product of her passion for racing. "She's very fit," she says, "and she works very hard at it. You can have all the style in the world, but unless you have the body, it won't work. Zara has both."

"She's not a rake, but she has a nice figure," agrees Cosgrave.

"There's something natural and fresh about her."

It's only within the past 12 months or so that Zara, who celebrated her 21st birthday on May 15, has blossomed into a potential fashion icon. Previously, she was all mirrored shades, body piercing (belly button and tongue) and public bust-ups with her boyfriend, the jockey Richard Johnson. But Mouret suggests that all of this is bound up with her style identity.

"I think she might be like Diana, in the way that Diana didn't just dress as a princess, She dressed as a woman - as herself," he says. "She's a Royal, but you can't take her out of her generation."

Whether Zara develops into a fully-fledged fashion icon remains to be seen. She's certainly redefining the rules in the way that Diana once did, reinventing the Royal brand to suit her, rather than compromising herself to fit in with convention. But Mouret, for one, hopes she doesn't do a Di. I think the best thing is for her not to become the new Lady Di," he says. "She should just be the sort of woman she wants to be, I think she knows who that is."
(Evening Standard)

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