GRAZIA was built on its love for a high-low look, and no one does it better than the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, who stole the 2023 British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards’ red carpet on February 19. Resplendent in a white, floor-length, one-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown with long black opera gloves, the royal paired the look with statement earrings from Zara.

But upon closer inspection, it appears Middleton wore this Sarah Burton for McQueen dress to the same event in 2019, its flower appliqué removed and replaced with a bow for this year’s soirée.

Over the years, the now 41-year-old mother-of-three has had an affinity for the Spanish clothing chain, as evidenced by many photographs of Middleton in Zara blazers, culottes and dresses. But given the UK’s cost of living crisis, this upcycled, revamped look is perhaps the royal’s most timely.

It’s not the first time Middleton has re-worn a McQueen number. At the inaugural Earthshot Prize in London in 2021, guests were asked to wear a recycled look on the green carpet. The Royal chose to revisit a lilac goddess gown by McQueen which she first wore to the BAFTA Awards in the summer of 2011.

Elsewhere on the carpet, actress Cate Blanchett wore the same John Galliano for Maison Margiela Haute Couture gown that she wore to the 2015 Oscars, with Louis Vuitton jewelry added. Blanchett, 53, took home the BAFTA for Best Actress for her role in TÁR.

For the uninitiated, TÁR tells the story of the incredibly layered, world-renowned conductor Lydia Tár. A maestro of orchestral assortments, we meet Lydia via long, drawn-out scenes mere weeks before she is to record the symphony that will elevate her already illustrious career. But it’s the happenings in the conductor’s periphery — her wandering eye which puts pressure on her relationship with her wife, her step-daughter who is being bullied, and her ex-assistant accusing her misconduct — that sees Lydia unravel into a dramatically unchecked individual. While Lydia’s comeuppance remains unclear, Blanchett’s performance, particularly in the last scenes of the film, is pure power.

“It’s a film that has a conductor at its centre but it’s not a film about the classical music world,” Blanchett told the audience at an advanced screening in Sydney in December. “You don’t need to know any terminology at all – just allow that to wash over you. Don’t try and make sense of it!”

Watch Blanchett’s moment below. TÁR is in cinemas now.