Designing the 'Lilian look'
In an interview, Princess Lilian's designer Elisabeth Wondrak described a unique 'Lilian look' – a soft, refined elegance that characterised the princess.
Up until 2006, Wondrak Couture was tucked away just behind Buckingham Palace in London's Belgravia. Here, designer Elizabeth Wondrak created 29 Nobel dress and many other garments for parties and official duties for Princess Lilian.
In her studio on Little Chester Street, she had a tailor's dummy with the princess's exact measurements. These measurements did not need to be changed at all during the many years of creative partnership between the princess and her dressmaker. Sketches and fabric samples were sent back and forth between London and Stockholm. The signs in the digital exhibition feature Wondrak's watercolour sketches of the garments included in the exhibition.
The Lilian look
Elizabeth Wondrak was not guided by changing fashions, but by the princess's "silhouette and personality". She believed that there was a typical "Lilian look" – a soft and feminine elegance with classic characteristics. Throughout the years, sketches and fabric samples were sent back and forth between London and Stockholm. Elizabeth Wondrak died at her home in London in 2006, aged 78.
Below is a selection of the princess's clothes that were included in the exhibition. More garments can be seen in the digital tour.
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It was the princess's designer who coined the expression 'The Lilian Look'. Their cooperation over the course of many years suggests a close, informal relationship. The image shows a screenshot from the digital exhibition, in which all the signs can be clicked and read. Click on the image to view the digital exhibition.
