There were hushed whispers in Monaco last year when Her Serene Highness, Princess Charlene, was not present at the podium to present the winners of the Monaco F1 Grand Prix. But around the world, everyone was wondering, loudly if I may add, where she was.
As Prince Albert and their twins, Jacques and Gabriella, presented Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz jr and Lando Norris with their accolades, the news of her absence was making headlines.
The princess was back home in South Africa, dealing with an ENT infection that forced her to stay in the country for an extended time. Rumours swirled about her relationship status with the ruler of Monaco and whether she had absconded, fleeing home as she allegedly tried to do before.
So seeing her at the F1 Grand Prix this year, beaming with her children (and husband) by her side, wearing an edgy periwinkle-blue jumpsuit, with her signature platinum blonde pixie hair back to its former glory, everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief.
For avid fashion watchers, everyone wanted to know who designed her daring open-V back wide-legged jumpsuit. It was business in the front and party at the back and she looked her confident best. Some were wondering if it was by her go-to designer, Akris, or even Chanel. Many were surprised that the outfit was by the now-Monaco based designer, Terrence Bray.
Bray, who is a respected designer in South Africa and a former lecturer at the Durban University of Technology, has been a dependable designer for the princess. She has turned to him on several occasions, including her wedding celebrations at the Oyster Box in 2011, where she wore a gown by Bray.
Their rapport makes sense of why she turned to a South African to design the garment of her first major appearance since her return to Monaco and the public eye.
Earlier on in the week, Charlene and Gabriella wore custom Terrence Bray outfits to the Monte Carlo Fashion Awards. Gabriella’s dress was a blue-and-purple floral floor-length gown with only one shoulder. Charlene’s floor-length white silk gown matched the one-shoulder style that her daughter was wearing.