Kate’s prints hit the High Street: Princess of Wales’s go-to designer teams up with Anthropologie

She has dressed Adele, Sienna Miller, Holly Willoughby and the Princess of Wales, who is particularly partial to the British designer’s trademark cinch-waisted dresses. 

But don’t imagine for a moment that these famous fans preclude the rest of us from adding a slice of Alice Temperley to our wardrobes. Since she launched her label in 2000, the 47-yearold has built her reputation on glossy catwalk shows featuring dresses with four-figure price tags. But she has grown her empire with Somerset, a more affordable diffusion line that’s been one of John Lewis’s best-selling franchises since its launch in 2012. 

Dress, £125, anthropologie. com; boots, £150, dune london.com

Now, ten years later, Temperley has launched another collaboration, this time with cult clothing and homeware brand Anthropologie, whose bohemian aesthetic has long echoed her own. 

Featuring colourful prints from Temperley’s archive, the carefully curated collection, called A Life In Print, is a must for anyone whose wardrobe features a preponderance of black, or who is stuck in a rut of drab monochrome and desperate to break out of it. 

Dress, £198, anthropologie.com; shoes, £100, dune london.com; bracelet, £35, jaeger. com; earrings, £35, susancaplan.co.uk

Blouse, £98, and bag, £70, anthropologie. com; jeans, £175, dl1961. com; boots, £130, dune london.co

And it won’t empty the bank: prices start at £45 for a leopard-print beanie hat, while a tiered star-print chiffon dress costs £185. Everything is designed in Britain and comes in sizes 6 to 16. 

While British women haven’t always embraced bold, colourful prints, the tide is turning. Lockdown saw many fashion brands reporting an uptick in sales as customers looked for mood-boosting patterns to cheer them up while they were stuck at home. 

Left: Dress, £125, anthropologie. com; boots, £499, lkbennett.com. Right: Dress, £148, anthropologie. com; white boots, £499, lkbennett.com

It’s an acquired taste that has stuck — and which Temperley’s new collection is perfectly placed to serve. This is dopamine dressing at its finest. Standouts include a calf-length tea dress strewn with bold, feminine blooms on a teal background (£148), and a sleeveless botanical floral midi dress that would work well at a winter wedding (£125), perhaps worn with a c­ardigan in a contrasting hue. 

Dress, £185 and belt, £60, anthropologie. com; boots, £49.99, pullandbear.com

For those who remain fearful of prints, there are subtler offerings, too, including a cream blouse with tiny blue stars (£98) which works well with jeans. 

Whatever the occasion, it’s time to embrace a life in print. Your mood will thank you for it.