New Zealand
Te Karere

‘I get a thrill’ – Kiwi designer Karen Walker behind Meghan’s iconic coats

October 30, 2018

The Duchess of Sussex has worn eight items by the designer.

The Duchess of Sussex has quickly established herself as a fashion icon with the stunning range of garments that she models at her many public engagements.

One of those garments being the brown Karen Walker trench coat, which has been blasted around the world.

"I’ve had feedback from a lot of different levels, from the New York Times to my weekend babysitter texting," Ms Walker told Te Karere.

"There’s so many people that see it and it’s all been positive and very excited and thrilled for the brand and for us and delighted to have a connection to her."

Pattern designer from Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi reversioned the latest design which was first conceived back in 2003.

For sale at $975, the jacket has sold out its pre-order.

"It’s really exciting to see the Duchess wear the coat that we’d worked on, but it’s just as exciting seeing anyone else wear it," pattern designer Kerry Ranginui says, who created the latest version of this coat.

"I was lucky to be looking after that for the last few years," he says.

"It’s an existing Karen Walker pattern that’s been in the family for almost 20 years in very many incarnations and I was very fortunate to be working on the new incarnation."

Mr Ranginui also appears on the latest TVNZ show Project Runway as a designer. Yet, he says he’s been fortunate to be among an the experienced Karen Walker team for the last eight years.

"It takes a big team to put anything together at Karen Walker, we’re fortunate to be a huge team and I’ve worked with some machinists who have been in the company for over 20 years."

"A lot of those ladies have seen the incarnations of this jacket."

Today, the Duchess wore the blue Fathom jacket also created by Mr Ranginui - making it the eighth Karen Walker design she has worn during her tour Down Under.

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