Last week, the Princess of Wales’s former stylist Natasha Archer posted a vague “coming soon” Instagram after a months-long hiatus from social media. Last summer was pretty crazy – out of nowhere, Archer announced that she was leaving Kensington Palace after more than a decade of working for Kate in particular. Archer didn’t give a reason, and within the world of the Windsors’ close staffers, it was seen as incredibly bizarre for Archer to leave when Kate was likely on the verge of becoming the queen consort. Even weirder, it felt like the breakup was messy – soon after Archer left, she turned her Instagram to public, thus revealing that she (and Kate) were Instagram-stalking the Duchess of Sussex and all of Meghan’s friends and associates. Not only that, but it turned out that Natasha’s marriage to Chris Jackson fell apart around the same time – Jackson is a longtime royal photographer, also closely associated with Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace. Well, enough backstory. What IS Natasha doing now?
Over the 15 years since Kate Middleton married Prince William, we’ve watched as she has become a force in British fashion, from the “Kate effect”, which boosts the sales of items and brands she wears, to the fashion trends she has driven and her championing of British brands. And over that time Natasha Archer has gone from being a personal assistant to princes William and Harry to Kate’s unofficial stylist. So when she resigned last year the focus wasn’t only on what was going to happen to the royal wardrobe but on what Archer was going to do next.
On Thursday she made her plans official, posting a statement about her next project to Instagram. “After almost two decades working within private households, I’m delighted to begin this next chapter, offering discreet, bespoke advisory services for those seeking considered guidance across wardrobe, personal presentation, creative direction, and the finer details that shape important moments.”
“Discreet” seems an understatement since there’s not a single mention of the Princess of Wales or the Palace. The closeness of the relationship that had Archer arriving at the Lindo Wing with a garment bag before Prince George’s public debut on the hospital steps, with new mum Kate in blue — for a boy — polka dots, isn’t touched on. Nor is there talk of those big fashion moments that topped best-dressed lists, the “diplomatic dressing” involved in foreign tours or the state visits that Archer attended.
As Archer’s role has long been a badly kept secret, cheering her on in the comments section below her post are several Kate fan accounts, as well as many of her most-worn brands, among them Emilia Wickstead, Jenny Packham, Suzannah London and Catherine Walker London. Also sharing their support are Isabel Spearman, who was Samantha Cameron’s aide (and, again, unofficial stylist) at No 10, and Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey, a friend of Kate’s from university. A former Vogue editor, Chadwyck-Healey is also said to have input on the royal wardrobe, and possibly to have stepped in to cover the unofficial styling role during Archer’s maternity leave. She is one of the names mooted to become Kate’s new — still unofficial — stylist.
That “stylist” is a word avoided by the Palace may have something to do with Archer’s departure. The Kate effect sells clothes, making Archer one of the most influential women in fashion — but she couldn’t claim ownership of her work publicly. It was easy to see Archer’s taste at play since she was often wearing the same things herself, such as polka dots, nude court shoes and the padded oversized headbands that became a surprising trend after Kate started wearing them.
Without the rigours of royal protocol to work around, Archer’s launch will allow her the scope to move further away from “appropriate” clothing and into high fashion territory. But I’d guess that her clients will be women who want their own versions of Kate’s style transformation — and that whether she claims her work publicly or not, Archer’s style will still affect the way that British women, and British royals, dress.
I still wonder why Archer basically sat on her hands for nearly nine months after leaving palace work. How much time did it take her to come up with “personal stylist for hire,” which is basically her new thing? The nine-month gap AND the fact that Natasha seems banned from mentioning Kate as a reference? How bad was this breakup? Something smells like a pretty strict NDA, doesn’t it? And no, women don’t want to dress like Kate. Not even Kate wants to dress like Kate, that’s why Kate and Natasha spent years style-stalking Meghan and creating Meghan moodboards for Kate’s reference.
Also: there’s a mention of Kate’s possible new “unofficial stylist,” Ginnie Chadwyck-Healey. I don’t get the “royal system” around having unofficial stylists – it’s dumb as hell and insulting for all parties. It’s not some scandalous thing that a high-profile woman would use the services of a stylist. What’s scandalous to me is that Kate is so unserious and unprofessional that she won’t give her stylists credit, nor will she hire actual stylists who know what the hell they’re doing.
Photos courtesy of Natasha Archer’s Instagram, Avalon Red, Backgrid and Cover Images.
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- USA Rights Only – Warsaw, Poland – 7/19/17 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte leave Warsaw, Poland, as they head to Germany. -PICTURED: Stylist to the Duchess of Cambridge Natasha Archer -PHOTO by: Dominic Lipinski/PA Images/INSTARimages.com -32109111.jpg Editorial Rights Managed Image – Please contact www.INSTARimages.com for licensing fee and rights: North America Inquiries: email sales@instarimages.com or call 212.414.0207 – UK Inquiries: email ben@instarimages.com or call + 7715 698 715 – Australia Inquiries: email sarah@instarimages.com.au Êor call +02 9660 0500 Ð for any other Country, please email sales@instarimages.com. ÊImage or video may not be published in any way that is or might be deemed defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene / Please consult our sales department for any clarification or question you may have – http://www.INSTARimages.com reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or video. If you are in violation of our intellectual property you may be liable for actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or video, and where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or statutory damage. Featuring: Natasha Archer Where: Warsaw, Poland, Poland When: 19 Jul 2017 Credit: Dominic Lipinski/PA Images/INSTARimages.com **USA Rights Only**
It feels rude to not give credit and I actually like seeing someone being creative with their stylist. Like Law and Zendaya. Or more recently, Anastasia Walker with Shaboozey and Hudson. It gives the stylists the recognition they deserve. This whole not calling someone a stylist is eye-rolling. Is it a British thing? A rich upper-class thing? Is it considered too celebrity-like? Bc even now, Archer is not calling herself a stylist but a discreet and bespoke advisor.
Given that Queen Mary has a stylist it’s not a royal rule. I also really appreciate when public figures are really open about using stylists ect… it pushes back against the impossible expectation that a someone be good at everything
Taking a few months between a high profile job and starting your business with a separation in the background do sound sage. I once left a job because it was bad for my professional credibility. The way it’s going fashion wise for Kate, maybe ms. Archer took the right decision in leaving and keeping her distance with the princess.
Rumer has it that Natasha and William hooked up. Once Kate found out….
My thoughts went immediately to an affair, and the way Jackson edited Waity’s photos I thought it might have been them.
Get ready for truckloads of British women dressed as clones of Meghan, and many of those in her circle of friends who are being followed on social media by this woman. We are going to be regaled with tales of Natasha “discovering” obscure designers who few in the UK would have known about before Meghan wore their pieces, whether shoes, clothes, jewellery, hats, etc. 😀
And this: “bespoke advisory services for those seeking considered guidance across wardrobe, personal presentation, creative direction, and the finer details that shape important moments.”
So is she also going to rip off fonts and project names and colour schemes for future clients? Was SHE the brains behind Kate’s actions on those fronts?
She certainly has the support of the press. This article was glowing with high praise. My question is will she be allowed to put out a book about styling Kate like her ex-husband does about photographing the royals? Is she going to allowed to do interviews to promote her business?
If she has the support of the press one has to ask why? What did she do to gain that support? (Did she leak the fake crying story?) Or perhaps there’s a powerful someone who wants her protected from negative scrutiny?
Left abruptly and her marriage broke up definitely sounds like she had something going on with Scooter.
Let me say one thing in preface: I’m betting this lady is resilient, kind, compassionate, and resourceful, because — deep breath — to cope with the Princess of bad wigs and sourpuss faces, you would need to be. My god. She must have put up with some things. And you know WanK staff wages are derisory. They probably think working for them is honour enough. They likely don’t understand that if you want monkeys, pay peanuts. Good people know their worth. They’re not flattered to serve you. If WanK took their own jobs seriously, they would grasp this. But. Having said all that? 3 months’ notice + 6 months’ gardening leave is…. 9 months. Those are standard markers in British employment contracts. But what it means — I would conjecture — is that she gave “notice” or was given notice, after the bust-up. I’m assuming there was a bust-up. And that rather than face the music, they just terminated her contract. She would have had to sign a contract, in order to sign an NDA. Standard procedure for an NDA or a compromise agreement is to agree on what the duties of the employee are, and therefore, what is covered by the invocation of confidentiality. Professional duties, methods, contacts, encounters, all of that is legitimate terrain for confidentially. And the payments offered — either in the form of salary or payments specifically tied to the terms of the NDA — are the glue. Take that money, and sign the contract, and, no paper can print anything you might say or write. Unless, they decide it is in the public interest — which would mean that the material at stake represents either a risk to the public at large, or, a broken law. NDA’s can’t protect you from revelations of conduct that breaches actual laws, or, a sense of public safety. What that means, in practice, is up to a court. But there is a case to be made.
Uk / English employment is far more generous to the employee than American employment where so many places are at will employers and can dump you right away without termination pay.
Natasha remained quiet because she was still getting paid for some of it. At the end of the day, even if her employer was a deluded copycat, Natasha is a normie who needs to actually work. And we can clearly see post Natasha just how much Kate has bad taste. That mop wig would not have happened with Natasha.
The whole unofficial stylist is also bs. Hire someone or don’t and give them credit. But Kate has always wanted to take credit, like the wedding makeup.
And let’s not forget Natasha knows all the secrets. She was the one driving plants out of the hospital when Kate was still refusing to show her face at all.
After all we have heard, and most of all seen, I think this woman is absolutely shameless.
…which might make her a very compelling witness if the NDA isn’t watertight…..!!!! The Italians prosecutions of mafia kingpins in the ‘90s relied on “pentiti” for the most part, who were former capos & consiglieri turning state’s evidence. The edifice had to collapse from pressure lodged within its own workforce, if you will.
I wonder if this move is her first choice, or her fallback.
If she tried to get a job with another person wealthy enough to afford an in-house stylist, or with a fashion house, and it didn’t go anywhere? Then this would be a way to try to cash in on her notoriety.
I think she has dreadful taste, if she’s truly responsible for Kate’s choices over the last however many years. Interesting that we apparently have her to blame for those incredibly ugly padded headbands, for one thing.
So it goes…
One other thing — it strikes me as so emblematic of how flat Kate’s public persona is, that even when she’s directly copying a woman who has great style and personal flair, Kate manages to get the details wrong in a way that makes the ensembles look so basic and dull.
In every one of the side-by-sides shown in this post, Kate is missing the interesting details. Meghan wears a heavy cardigan and high-cropped pants; Kate wears a basic blazer and pants that just look too short, not deliberately cropped. The colors are the same, the pieces almost match on both women, but Meghan looks sharp and interesting, while Kate just looks uninspired. And it’s the same in every comparison.
I have no idea what Kate is like in private, aside from what Harry said about her, which was probably him being kind, but she comes off as prissy, stand-offish, and at best unkind. Her public persona is to gurn, annoy her husband, say little, and dress badly. It’s too bad she’s either too lazy or too oblivious to get good professional assistance.
That copy-catting is scary. This clearly shows how dumb/lack of critical thinking on the part of kkkate and or her “stylist” to think people would notice the cosplay. Everything our Maghan wears is instant iconic and sells out. What were they thinking?
It’s no wonder kkkate and scooter hate Maghan; she is everything they wanted kkkate to be and then some! Eat your hearts out royalists!
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This isn’t just copying the outfit, but an attempt to appropriate/take over Meghan’s life and erase Meghan herself.
Kate not only dresses up as Meghan for the same events—see the photos here: black pants, a deep blue jacket, the same pendant, both at basketball games—but also uses the media to take credit for Meghan successes. The owner of Strathberry, a handbag company, publicly thanked Meghan for choosing her small company’s handbag, which immediately resulted in thousands of orders and such spectacular growth that the company had to buy additional buildings and hire dozens of people. After some time, a major article appeared about Kate promoting the company Strathberry by carrying their handbags. Not a word about Meghan.
It was similar with the Aquazzura shoes that Kate wore, copying Meghan. Now they’re saying she promoted them within the royal family, just like Strathberry handbags.
Very often, Kate steals Meghan’s events, exploiting the time between Meghan’s event and its media coverage. This was the case during an IG in the Netherlands, where Meghan worked for local organizations, but the information only reached the media after the IG. During this timeframe, Kate, who tracks everything, dressed identically, found a similar organization, did a very similar photo shoot, and the tabloids, using the RF, made a dozen articles about it. When Meghan posted it on the website, they wrote that she was copying Kate. It was the same with the Meeting with the Fathers.
Kate is just as much of a psychopath as her husband.
I’m so glad you put time stamps on when Kate and Meghan wore these outfits to make it crystal clear that Copy Keen was indeed inspired by/copied Kate’s look, despite the British press trying to make us think otherwise!
That should be copying *Meghan’s look.
I can’t imagine having an illicit affair with William. Just . . . why? I’m sure he has little to offer (and I mean that in more ways than one). I’d rather wash dishes at a restaurant than sleep with William. Same boredom and you just know you’re wasting your precious time. Yuck.