The Duchess opted for a tuxedo dress for tonight’s visit to Courtenay Creative in Wellington.
The PA’s Alexander Britton shared a video as the royals were welcomed by Lord of the Rings Urakhai Orc soldiers.
Harry and Meghan are greeted by Lord of the Rings Urakhai Orc soldiers at Courtenay Creative #RoyalVisitNewZealand pic.twitter.com/d9SYGF8u1T
— Alexander Britton (@adbritton) October 29, 2018
The facility is described as “… a fantasy horror make-up, costume and virtual-reality facility” by the New Zealand Herald. It will be a training center for the creative industries.
Meghan and Harry met actors and models during the visit.
A new exhibition at the space, ‘Things That Go Bump In The Night,’ just opened that showcases the work of fantasy horror artists. The exhibit was curated by Gino Acevedo, the award-winning visual effects director for films like Alien 3, Avatar, King Kong, and The Lord of The Rings. New Zealand was home to multiple location shoots for the Lord of the Rings films.
Prince Harry was fascinated by some of the costumes and makeup. More from this New Zealand Herald story:
The royals were particularly impressed by Evans Bay Intermediate student Ruby Acevedo, 12, who had been transformed into a chimp from Planet of the Apes by her father Gino, a creative art director at Weta Digital.”
Prince Harry came close to her face and asked if he could touch it, which he did. Meghan asked, “How long did it take?” and Gino explained the mask/mould techniques he used on Lord of the Rings. The Prince asked Ruby if she wanted to take a walk outside wearing it.”
Kensington Palace posted a brief video from the event.
This evening The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met young students and professionals working in Wellington’s vibrant film and creative industries. ???#RoyalVisitNZ pic.twitter.com/hWxq7FWDrV
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) October 29, 2018
We now turn to look at what Meghan wore for tonight’s engagement.
The Duchess was in a sleeveless dress by Maggie Marilyn, the brand’s Leap of Faith Blazer Dress.
As seen on the Maggie Marilyn site, the dress is 100% cotton. It has an A-line silhouette, double-breasted styling, and notched lapels. In addition to having the sleeves removed, Meghan has added on-seam pockets. The dress is available at Neiman Marcus ($645), at Net-a-Porter ($650) and also at Bergdorf Goodman ($645). Maggie Marilyn is taking pre-orders for the long-sleeved dress with delivery promised in four to six weeks. That price is $1020 NZD, roughly $670 USD at today’s exchange rates.24-year-old Maggie Marilyn Hewitt is the label’s founder. Committed to sustainable fashion, the company’s tagline is “Liveable luxury consciously created in New Zealand.” More from a Vogue piece:
…the ruffled, Crayola-striped dresses that reappear in most collections are actually made from ethically produced silk, and her oversize shirting is done with certified natural dyes that require less water.
She’s also mindful of the social impact of her clothes, so she works with local factories in her native New Zealand, where she’s reinvigorated the clothing manufacturing industry, and sources her silks from a family-run mill in China that supports its entire village.
Meghan wore the Gillian Anderson for Winser London swing coat (£395, about $510) that we first saw at the Invictus opening ceremony.
Meghan was in her Manolo Blahnik BB heels again this evening.
The Duchess wore the Tattoo Diamond Pendant that we first saw last night as well as the Boh Runga earrings that were given to her as a gift just yesterday from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
As explained by the artist in an Instagram post: “The gold discologo stud features the native Miromiro feather, reworked into a kiss motif. In Māori mythology the Miromiro feather was a magic token of devotion that would bring loved ones back to you.”
From a Stuff NZ piece:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern personally gifted Prince Harry two music records from New Zealand band Shapeshifter – The System Is A Vampire CD and a Stars vinyl – and a pair of Boh Runga feather earrings to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
Ardern said she gave them the gifts in person and was given a gift in return – a charity recipe book helping families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.”
Below you see the Prime Minister (second from the right) at last night’s reception celebrating 125 years of women’s suffrage in New Zealand.
Meghan did not appear to have a handbag tonight.
Here is a look at tomorrow’s engagements:
Meghan & Harry will visit the North Shore to dedicate an area of native bush to The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. They will also join children from the ‘Trees in Survival’ group in a ‘welly-wanging’ contest.
The couple visits Pillars, a charity supporting children who have a parent in prison. As a wedding present to The Duke and Duchess, the Government of New Zealand gifted $5000 dollars to Pillars, and Their Royal Highnesses will have the opportunity to meet some of the children who have directly benefited from this funding.
The Duke and Duchess visit the Viaduct Harbour, before attending a reception hosted by the PM at the Auckland War Memorial Museum that will include performances by members of the Pasifika community living in Auckland ages 17 to 25 who are making significant contributions to the well-being of their communities.
Our recap Instagram look at what Meghan wore tonight.
I love this dress- very crisp, simple and elegant.
I’m not sure if I like tuxedo dresses but I actually quite like this one on her, though I think I’m in the minority. I think it’s better she removed the sleeves. With the sleeves it just looks like a coat but without I can tell it’s a dress.
Another shirt-dress-coat in a neutral color, except that the cool mutton sleeves were removed, only to have the Gillian Anderson coat with sleeves draped over her bare arms and shoulders. Remove sleeves, add coat but don’t put your arms in the sleeves. 🙂 I’m not fashionable enough to understand. 🙂 This one’s for the X-Files!
This is a fun look and feels very “Meghan.” I’m beginning to see the patterns of her personal style and this is very much a classic example of it. Despite a few un-tailored items at the beginning (to be expected with a growing bump), she has knocked this tour out of the ballpark!
Looks like a fun event. This dress is so bland to me. It reminds me of a old school nurse’s uniform. I wasn’t a big fan of the green tuxedo either, though I did really like the long-sleeved black one. I think the menswear-inspired look is most effective when it’s a little fitted and sexy.
Yes indeed, this was very “student nurse-esque”, regardless of the sleeveless and above-the-knee touches. “Lab coat” also comes to mind, unfortunately.
A thousand dollar white cotton sleeveless coat dress. I appreciate the bona fides of this young company, but what a waste of money. It’s mediocre fashion. My least favorite look of the entire tour. Even the pink fruit salad number was better. Thankfully Meghan’s alive face and bountiful cheer saved the day. Love the earrings.
*Pink fruit salad number* – love it!! I know tour fatigue has set in with me and my judgement is all to pot.. Too often when I think I don’t like a thing I go back over tour pictures later and can see it afresh and even come to like it.
I think Meghan’s vivacity and cheer always shine through and help me see more clearly. In the case of this dress I was worried about fit until it penetrated my poor fatigued mind that she is of course pregnant which is doing odd things to the fit of several tour outfits.
The only thing I like here is the necklace !! It’s beautiful.
Chic as ever, Meghan.
I have been thinking about the wistful wishes that many have expressed about less monochrome, more exciting clothes for this tour. With this many engagements, I think taking the broad view of a streamlined look, with relatively similar silouettes, and just a few dazzling dresses was so wise. She has looked polished, professional, respectful, poised and radiantly beautiful for this demanding tour. Her clothes were great, but her genuine warmth really stood out at every event. Not many could keep up this pace with such grace. The royal family was gifted with quite the ambassador. What an impressive woman she is.
There is a good repliMeghan for the black tuxedo dress in Massimo Dutti.
NOTE: admin edit
totaly a carrots….
This looks like a super-fun event, thought I don’t have much to say about the outfit. I do love the Gillian Anderson coat and will be happy to see it reappear anytime. Not sure I understand the navy shoes with it, though.
I don’t think this dress does much for her. It looks visibly hemmed and possibly let out. Coat dresses like this are always a gamble. You aren’t meant to button the last button, to leave ease, but if you don’t button it or secure it somehow, you can have a wardrobe mishap. She’s tried this style twice now, and I’d set it aside until after baby.
What a fun at Courtenay Creative ! I personally would be scared s.. ))) Everyone has a great time . In love with Meghan’s tuxedo dress ❤️. It’s modern, sofisticated and well cut . Interesting story behind earrings . A total win for me ??❤️
Hi admin! Wonderful post! So nice to see Weta being recognized for all their amazing work. Just needed to say as a die hard Lord of the Rings fan here as well.. the two gentlemen that greeted the couple at the door are not Uruk-hai. They are men from Gondor (you can tell by the tree of Gondor on their shields).
(and actually, watching the video there isn’t an Uruk-hai at all! Gondor soldiers and an orc!)
The tweet is a bit wrong there – he guards aren’t Uruk-hai. They are in Gondor soldier costumes (the shield has the tree of Gondor on it). The Uruk-hai is the guy lurking in the video 🙂 Very cool that Weta Workshop has a new venture for the community
So glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed! I tweeted the reporter that had sent the original tweet out as other news outlets are using that report as a basis for their stories and are getting the caption wrong. Small detail, but what a bother!
This was a fun event for sure. Obviously this dress was fitted before Meghan blossomed with her pregnancy as it is too tight. Since she had to put a coat over her shoulders, perhaps a version of the dress with sleeves would have been better. Although I don’t like the fullness at the top of the sleeve, that the model is wearing. I think Meghan’s dress is too short, not inappropriate, but it is riding up in the front, The pockets are so low. I also find the white to be very stark and a cream would have been nicer. All in all, this is a miss for me.
This is the third tuxedo style dress we have seen on the Duchess and I have liked them all. However, I think because this is the third offering it would need to up the game somewhat to be exciting. Like the green backless dress worn to the Invictus Games Closing Ceremony. I am also not liking the length of this one. The black dress was straight and I think that worked better with the shorter hemline. I like that this one has pockets which she seems to be enjoying. I also like the navy blue suede shoes with the white dress. Her face and hair looks gorgeous and she seems to be having fun.
Glad you clarified that the image on the earrings are feathers. I, too, thought they were carrots and thinking ‘hmmm’ and what is the significance of crossed carrots! She looks stunning in white. I don’t think there’s a color that she can’t wear!
Such a fun stop at Courtenay Creative. What an opportunity for Gino Acevedo, award winning artist and curator of the exhibition, to meet and discuss his work with Meghan and Harry. Cool to see Gino’s daughter, Ruby, a part of the evening as well as other future visual artists and those already working in the industry.
Thanks for including the vid clip of Harry and Meghan’s timidly entrance to the Studio – I would be leery of the elite orc guards myself!
What does one wear to a exhibition called “Things That Go Bump In The Night?” Thought Meghan’s dress by Maggie Marilyn topped with the Gillian Anderson coat was appropriate for the event and relatable. Liked Harry’s casual open collar shirt and jacket.
I think I like the black tuxedo long sleeved dress that Meghan wore a while back better than this one. She looks pretty but its just meh.. The earrings are cute though, did anyone else think they were little carrots at first? I wondered what the meaning behind them was, it was sweet. ?
Love this dress, my favorite on this trip! Young and smart.
I actually thought they were little peppers haha! It isn’t immediately obvious they are supposed to be feathers.
I thought they were chili peppers!
I thought they were zucchini at first, then carrots!