Stewart Parvin: Queen Elizabeth’ designer

Queen Elizabeth
| credits: File copy

Often described as a designer who cuts clothes to flatter women, Stewart Parvin is the youngest of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth’s   designers. He designs her outfits for official occasions.

Stewart Parvin, 45, trained at Edinburgh College of Art. He grew up in Ascot, Berkshire, and from a young age showed a keen interest in fashion, which later developed into a unique talent.

Wondering why the queen never looks anything other than cool and immaculate? According to the royal dress designer, the queen is a ‘cold person’ – in terms of body temperature. He explained that the coolness of her skin keeps the clothes perfectly pressed – accounting for her impeccable appearance at all times.

He said in an interview with Daily Mail: “We always choose fabrics that don’t crease – we go to extra lengths to line them so they don’t,”

“I am somebody who creases all their clothes. I’m always hot. The Queen is very lucky – she doesn’t crease her clothes. The clothes are always impeccable. But it is also that she doesn’t glow. If you are a cold person, your clothes don’t crease.”

To ensure that the queen does not appear in public too many times in same outfit, or in the same company, each dress is recorded on a spread sheet with the time and date it was worn. “The queen is apparently keen to adopt ‘outrageous designs and bright colours’ such as pink and yellow,” Mr. Parvin said.

He added that block colours ‘elongate her; she’s only very tiny.’ For Her Majesty, practicality always comes first – which is why she favours dresses rather than skirts and blouses which can become untucked.

The couturier, who has been working with the Queen since 2000, described the techniques his team use to keep her looking perfect. As one of Her Majesty’s shoulders is higher than the other, she wears an extra shoulder-pad. Moreover, a servant with the same sized feet usually wears her shoes in for her to save her toes from blistering.

Parvin told the Sunday Times: “The shoes have to be immediately comfortable … she does get someone to wear them. The Queen can never say, “I’m uncomfortable, I can’t walk any more.’

 She often dons his classically cut dresses and jackets to critical worldwide acclaim. Parvin added: “There is always someone there photographing her. So when she gets out of a car, she can’t pull her skirt up, tuck her shirt in, tighten her things; she gets out and she’s ready.”

Last year, he also designed the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Philips’, wedding dress. With the Queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012, the passion for luxurious, impeccably cut fashion with the royal seal of approval is set to continue as his passion for contemporary chic design and couture quality has resulted in several collections that are both sensuous and elegantly stylish.