{"id":36554,"date":"2026-06-16T20:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/36554\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T20:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:04:27","slug":"g7-summit-lady-starmer-wears-monsoon-while-brigitte-macron-stays-loyal-to-vuitton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/36554\/","title":{"rendered":"G7 summit: Lady Starmer wears Monsoon \u2013 while Brigitte Macron stays loyal to Vuitton"},"content":{"rendered":"

Louis Vuitton<\/a> and Monsoon are not the most obvious bedfellows. But there they were yesterday, sharing space on the same stage, during the official opening of the G7 summit<\/a>, in Evian, eastern France.<\/p>\n

To clarify, I\u2019m talking about the choice of dresses worn by Brigitte Macron<\/a>, the wife of French president Emmanuel Macron, and Victoria Starmer<\/a>, the wife of British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Together, they expressed two very different approaches to dressing for the public eye.<\/p>\n

Mrs Macron\u2019s outfit was no great surprise. She has a longstanding relationship with the Louis Vuitton brand, and its artistic director of women collections, Nicolas Ghesqui\u00e8re. This particular look features a white boxy jacket and matching skirt with a black stripe motif in her favoured just-above-the-knee length.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s polished and professional, exercising soft diplomacy by championing the finest in French fashion design, from a brand that is part of one of France\u2019s most successful conglomerates, LVMH.<\/p>\n

Lady Starmer chose a different tack, opting for a viscose and linen-blend design by Tallulah & Hope, a sustainable and ethical British label stocked at Monsoon.<\/p>\n

It works with artists in Jaipur, and a family-run factory in Mumbai which prioritises fair pay and a safe working environment. The dress, which originally cost \u00a3255, is now out of stock.<\/p>\n

\"Lady<\/p>\n

Tallulah & Hope, which is stocked in Monsoon, produces clothes in a factory in Mumbai which prioritises fair pay – Isabel Infantes<\/p>\n

The message in the Tallulah & Hope dress is commendable: ethical, sustainable and showing that independent British fashion doesn\u2019t need to cost the Earth.<\/p>\n

Her choice illustrates that she isn\u2019t overtly bothered by designer tags, and showcases our brilliant high street, which provides access to great fashion at fair prices.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see Lady Starmer\u2019s reasoning: after the free clothes debacle of 2024<\/a>, she has been treading very carefully with her choice of brands, keeping them firmly in the high street sphere. There\u2019s a lot of heat on her husband right now, and she\u2019s clearly reading the room.<\/p>\n

All the same, for personal stylist Bella Hignett, it wasn\u2019t the best choice for the occasion. \u201cI work with a few female MPs and I would not have suggested this for the G7, whether they were Green, Liberal, Tory or Labour,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cLady Starmer\u2019s look reeks of mediocrity. I would have elevated the Monsoon dress at the very least and changed the belt. The sleeves are too long, and she needed a silver clutch to match the shoes so her arms aren\u2019t just hanging. It\u2019s a dress for a summer barbecue in my opinion, not a world stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"G7<\/p>\n

According to personal stylist Bella Hignett, Lady Starmer should have at the very least \u2018elevated\u2019 the dress – Reuters<\/p>\n

It is fair to say that nobody really takes issue with the cost or look of Madame Macron\u2019s outfits these days, because she is so consistent. That they are expensive is old news. It has become expected and unremarkable of the French First Lady.<\/p>\n

Lady Starmer\u2019s outfit choices, meanwhile, continue to come under more scrutiny. She looked the part when she wore Edeline Lee and Me+Em at the start of her husband\u2019s term as Prime Minister. But in the months since it emerged that the couple had received thousands of pounds worth of free clothes from a Labour peer, she has generally kept her outfits more low-key, and low-cost.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/p>\n

Victoria Starmer in polka-dot Edeline Lee at Millbank Tower during London Fashion Week in September 2024, prior to controversy over clothing donations – Neil Mockford<\/p>\n

At the time, now-Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy<\/a> said that the couple had accepted donations so they could \u201clook their best\u201d when representing the UK.<\/p>\n

Lady Starmer is trying to not make headlines for the wrong reasons, and I can appreciate that. In wearing high street clothes, she\u2019s relatable.<\/p>\n

But even the most self-assured dresser should consult a stylist for a high-profile situation. Lady Starmer could do with someone who can look at the wider context, dress code and practicalities of the occasion.<\/p>\n

Hignett has a few alternative suggestions: \u201cI think for an occasion such as this, I would have borrowed a dress for Lady Starmer from Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney or Burberry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a time and a place to really look the part, particularly now, and I think Lady Starmer should have stepped it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Louis Vuitton and Monsoon are not the most obvious bedfellows. But there they were yesterday, sharing space on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12704],"tags":[1720,25724,36,25723,337,3053,25720,2773,4955,25722,25721,25719],"class_list":["post-36554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-louis-vuitton","tag-brigitte-macron","tag-british-prime-minister","tag-emmanuel-macron","tag-fashion-design","tag-g7-summit","tag-keir-starmer","tag-lady-starmer","tag-louis-vuitton","tag-lvmh","tag-monsoon","tag-tallulah-hope","tag-victoria-starmer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}