Assignment 2

  No one can deny that the wedding dress was a subject of great excitement leading up to the day of Kate and William’s wedding on April 29^th, 2011. Despite the hype it’s hard not to also think, how much is this going to cost and most importantly, who pays?

The ornate detailing and fabric work of Kate Middleton’s dress shows that the royal family still feels the need to have the unnecessary extravagance. This draws a resemblance to the Rococo period and how the royals’ extravagance in designs highlighted the difference between themselves and the public. In the Rococo period artists crafted pieces specifically for the royals while their economies struggled to stay afloat. Similarly, the royals today ascertain specific designs by top stylists for their sensuous impulses, despite economic hardship.

However, the royal wedding could also be seen as a major investment into the British financial system, as tourism rocketed and publicity was at an all time high. So although the extravagance of it all is being repeated and the division between the ‘elite’ royals and their subjects is there I think the royals are more understanding about the effects. This mixes neo-classical thoughts of necessity and the Rococo thoughts of desire, by mixing economical needs with sensuous impulses.

Although this dress and wedding symbolizes how the continuing curve carries on repeating, they also show how we are starting to realize and learn from the consequences that come from it.