Call us late to the game, but we’ve suddenly come to the realisation that Queen Elizabeth II, is, maybe, a closeted Fashion Person™? During London Fashion Week, she sat next to the reigning queen of the industry, Ms. Anna Wintour, at Richard Quinn’s fall 2018 presentation, after which she presented the designer with the first-ever Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. Kate Middleton even shies away from wearing wedges because, apparently, HRH “isn’t a fan” — see, she gets it.
On Tuesday, we learned the Queen has a bit of street style cred, too. The 91-year-old was on-hand at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London to celebrate its completion of a major renovation. For the event, which coincided with the first day of spring, she chose a bright orange winter coat, matching hat, and, wait for it, Gucci leather horse-bit loafers.
After a bit of photo research, it appears HRH has been a fan of her Gucci loafers for quite some time; she's been wearing them since before the Italian fashion label’s major resurgence, partly because they look just like her beloved patent leather Anello & Davide loafers. Only the biggest difference between street style stars who wear the shoes and the Queen is that she has someone whose sole job is to break them in; the employee walks around Buckingham Palace in beige cotton ankle socks to ensure the shoes won't give the Queen blisters.
Designer Stewart Parvin, the queen's wardrobe couturier of 12 years, told The Telegraph, "The shoes have to be immediately comfortable…she does get someone to wear them [in]. The Queen can never say ‘I’m uncomfortable, I can’t walk any more.' She has the right to have someone wear them in." And to that we say, life in the Queen’s shoes, is in fact, Gucci.
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