The Nobel Prize week is always packed with official engagements for the Bernadotte family, who gathered once again this Wednesday afternoon for the formal audiences and the subsequent dinner with the laureates at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.
A night full of small delights for us fashion experts, beginning with the looks chosen by the evening’s main protagonists. Among them was Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, who arrived at the capital’s concert hall, where the laureates had gathered, wearing a breathtaking gala gown that perfectly reflects the distinctive style of the future queen.
© JONATHAN NACKSTRANDA particularly symbolic week has begun for Sweden and Norway, and by extension, for their royal houses. It’s December 10, the date on which both countries simultaneously host their Nobel Prize ceremonies, solemn events that crown several days of cultural programs, talks, exhibitions, and meetings, with Stockholm as the epicenter.
Victoria officially inaugurated the intense agenda with the opening of Nobel Week Lights, an artistic light exhibition that filled the city with luminous installations.
© JONATHAN NACKSTRANDTwo days later came the most anticipated moment, including the audience and the traditional banquet with the laureates, the grand finale of Nobel Week. Year after year, the Crown Princess proves that her style rises to the stature and symbolism of the occasion.
Victoria of Sweden brings back one of her mother’s Gala gowns:
What no one expected, however, was that Princess Victoria would select a design that wasn’t just a repeat, an increasingly common practice among the best-dressed women in royalty, but one taken directly from the Bernadotte family archives.
© Pascal Le SegretainInstead of rewearing a gown from her own wardrobe, like the navy tulle H&M dress also owned by Queen Letizia of Spain, she chose to pay a beautiful tribute to her mother, Queen Silvia, by reusing one of the most celebrated royal looks in the history of these awards.
© Ibl/ShutterstockThe gown, an architectural creation worn decades ago by the king’s consort, fits her eldest daughter like a glove, time having done nothing to diminish its impact.
© Pascal Le SegretainThe look instantly transported us back to 31 years ago, when Queen Silvia wore the exact same gown to the Nobel banquet in 1994. We know the piece is a zibeline evening dress, a special French faille-like fabric no longer produced, created by couturier Jacques Zehnder, tailored exclusively for the German-born queen.
© TTThe gown stands out for its geometric, asymmetrical neckline that bares the shoulders like a strapless bodice, enhanced by a matching belt that defines the silhouette. From the waist falls a voluminous, pleated skirt, also asymmetrical, that reveals a contrasting black silk underskirt subtly peeking out at the side, adding the perfect dramatic touch.
The jewels Queen Silvia wore in 1994:
Back then, Queen Silvia completed her look with Queen Sofia’s diamond tiara, often called the Nine-Point Tiara because of its nine diamond points along the top.
Its original owner was Sofia of Nassau, queen consort to King Oscar II. After her death, the tiara passed to her son, King Gustaf V. His wife, Queen Victoria, never wore it, and it ultimately ended up with their daughter-in-law, Queen Louise of Sweden (Lady Louise Mountbatten), second wife of King Gustaf VI Adolf, grandfather of today’s King Carl XVI Gustaf.
© Alain BENAINOUSToday, the tiara is primarily worn by Queen Silvia, though several of the king’s sisters and the late Princess Lilian have also worn it. Princess Birgitta made a memorable appearance with it at Princess Victoria’s wedding in 2010, wearing the tiara across her forehead, as Queen Louise once did.
Silvia paired it with the Karl Johan diamond earrings, named after Karl XIV Johan, formerly Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, a trusted military leader of Napoleon who became King of Sweden in 1818.
© Alain BENAINOUSThe earrings date from his reign (1818–1844) and feature three stacked diamonds supporting a large pear-shaped pendant, encircled by eleven additional diamonds.
She added a round-diamond necklace suspending the treasured Vasa pendant, and completed the ensemble with the historic Brazilian brooch, inherited by Queen Josefina of Sweden from her sister Amalia of Leuchtenberg, Empress of Brazil.
Another homage at the 2018 Nobel Ceremony:
Just seven years ago, the Crown Princess employed this same approach at the 2018 Nobel Prizes, borrowing from her mother a strapless organza and chiffon gown in three striking color blocks, pink, green, and grey, designed by Nina Ricci for the 1995 ceremony.
© TTAt that time, Victoria had only just turned eighteen and did not attend the event regularly until two years later, when she wore the celebrated high-neck blue gown that later inspired an iconic Anne Hathaway look in 'The Princess Diaries.'
© TT News AgencyThe return of the Fringe Tiara:
As she did at the 2024 ceremony, Victoria crowned her look this year with the Baden Fringe Tiara, featuring 47 diamonds arranged like sun rays. The diadem belonged to Victoria of Baden, who received it as a wedding gift from her parents, the Grand Duke and Duchess of Baden.
