Who Is Alessandra Rich? The Designer Behind the Polka-Dot Dress

Alessandra Rich is the London and Milan house behind the polka-dot silk dress the Princess of Wales keeps returning to, the tweed bouclé jacket with crystal buttons, and the black lace gown Meryl Streep collected a Golden Globe in. Alessandra Rich herself is an Italian-born designer who started the label in 2010 with no fashion training and a first collection of ten pieces, and who still runs it with her husband. This page sets out who she is, how the house grew, what it stands for and what that means for the 306 pieces on sale at Coveti. Every fact is checked against the house’s own About page and the dated press record listed at the end.

Key facts

• Founded: 2010, by Alessandra Rich, with offices in London and Milan. The designer is Italian-born and London-based.
• Training: none in fashion. Before the label she worked in her husband’s art business (he is a third-generation art dealer) and in property and interiors, and she launched the house in her forties.
• Breakthrough: the first two collections sold at Harrods; Net-a-Porter’s founder Natalie Massenet then bought a whole collection after seeing it at a showroom in the Ritz Paris.
• Signatures: polka-dot silk crêpe de chine, wool tweed bouclé with crystal and gold-tone buttons, Chantilly lace, lace-trimmed collars, puff sleeves and a defined waist. The collections are made entirely in Italy and shown in Paris.
• Worn by: the Princess of Wales (the navy polka-dot dress in the 2018 portrait for King Charles’s seventieth birthday, then D-Day 75 in 2019, the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, Garter Day 2023 and VE Day 80 in 2025), Meryl Streep at the 2012 Golden Globes, Beyoncé in the 2016 Formation video, Sarah Jessica Parker and Abigail Spencer.
• At Coveti: 306 pieces from $488 to $8,780 (median $2,750), 172 of them dresses, sized on the UK ladder converted from the house’s Italian sizing, and, from Fall Winter 2026, 4 pairs of shoes on a 10.5 cm stiletto.

A late start, on purpose

Alessandra Rich did not come up through a fashion school and did not apprentice in an atelier. She grew up in Italy, worked alongside her husband selling art, tried property and interior decoration, and by her own account enjoyed all of it without feeling any of it was hers. She had designed her own wedding dress and most of her teenage wardrobe, so when she decided in 2010 to make something for herself, clothes were the obvious answer. The first collection was ten pieces and took eight months to finish. She sourced the fabrics, found the factories, produced the lookbook and rang the stockists herself, and most of them said no.

Harrods said yes, and stocked the first two collections. Rich then took the clothes to Paris and joined a group of young designers showing in a suite at the Ritz on Place Vendôme. Natalie Massenet, the founder of Net-a-Porter, saw the rail while waiting in the hotel lobby and bought the whole collection for the site. Rich has described that moment as the exposure that let the house grow. By 2016 the label was in more than forty stores worldwide and her husband had joined to run the business side. She has said that starting after forty was a blessing, and that if she had begun twenty years earlier she would not be where she is.

What an Alessandra Rich dress looks like

The house describes its work as a tension between playful innocence and something more subversive, and that is a fair summary of the clothes. The fabrics are the first tell: silk crêpe de chine printed with polka dots, wool tweed bouclé, Chantilly lace, silk taffeta, cady and velvet, all made in Italy. Then the details: a lace-trimmed collar, a puff sleeve, a row of crystal and gold-tone buttons, a bow at the waist, a peplum, a split in a pencil skirt. The waist is always defined and the shoulder is usually strong. On the hanger the pieces can read as costume; on the body they are precise, and they photograph unusually well, which is a large part of why they keep turning up at weddings, galas and royal engagements.

Each collection is built around an imagined heroine. Rich has talked about styling a fitting model in hosiery and vintage necklaces until the character of the season arrives, and about her heroines being women who are not so perfect that they are boring. The Fall Winter 2026 collection at Coveti is the current chapter: polka-dot silks in black and white, bordeaux and cream, and light blue; tweed bouclé in ivory and black; tartan silk; merino lace knits; and the first Alessandra Rich shoes Coveti has carried.

The polka dot and the Princess of Wales

The single most recognisable Alessandra Rich piece is the navy polka-dot silk midi with a contrasting white collar. The Princess of Wales wore it for the official portrait marking King Charles’s seventieth birthday in 2018, then again for the D-Day 75 commemorations in June 2019. Abigail Spencer had worn the same dress to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in May 2018, and Sarah Jessica Parker wore it in New York the month before. In June 2022 the Princess wore a custom azure version, with the crystal shoulder and belt details swapped for plain fabric, to the Platinum Jubilee Big Lunch, and repeated it at Wimbledon that July. A black and white polka-dot midi followed at Garter Day in June 2023 and again at the VE Day 80 service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on 8 May 2025.

Rich has said where the print comes from. Asked about her muses in 2019 she named Princess Diana: “She wore polka dots so well and I know all of her looks by heart.” The lineage is doing quiet work every time the dress appears. The full dated record of the Princess of Wales in Alessandra Rich lists each appearance with its source, and the polka-dot dresses guide shows every dot on sale at Coveti now.

Red carpet and stage

Meryl Streep wore a floor-length black Alessandra Rich lace gown to the 2012 Golden Globes, where she won Best Actress for The Iron Lady; Rich has described taking Streep’s measurements in a London hotel suite with shaking hands. Beyoncé wore a white tiered lace dress from the Spring Summer 2016 collection in the Formation video. Rihanna, Olivia Wilde and Adriana Lima were early clients. The house shows during Paris Fashion Week and Vogue Runway carries its collections from Pre-Fall 2023 to Fall 2026.

What it means for the pieces you can buy

The 306 pieces at Coveti are the house ready-to-wear, made in Italy and sold here in the UK sizes converted from the Italian sizing the house uses. The Polka Dot Dress With Collar at $2,882 is the closest thing to the royal dress in the current range; the Check Tweed Bouclé Double Breasted Jacket in Black at $4,150 is the tweed; the Chantilly Lace Halterneck Evening Dress in Black at $6,230 is the black lace. Prices run from $488 to $8,780, with a median of $2,750, which places the house between Zimmermann and Rasario in the Coveti catalogue.

If you are new to the house, start with how to style the polka-dot dress, then the Fall Winter 2026 edit and the size guide. Is Alessandra Rich a luxury brand sets the prices against the peers, and the history and timeline dates everything above.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Alessandra Rich?

An Italian-born, London-based designer who founded her namesake label in 2010, in her forties and with no formal fashion training. She previously worked in her husband’s art business and in property and interiors. The house has offices in London and Milan, makes everything in Italy and shows in Paris.

Where is Alessandra Rich from?

Italy. She is Italian-born and has been based in London since before the label started; the house keeps its studio work in Italy, where the collections are made, and its offices in London and Milan.

What is Alessandra Rich famous for?

The polka-dot silk crêpe de chine dress the Princess of Wales has worn for royal portraits and services since 2018, tweed bouclé with crystal buttons, Chantilly lace evening dresses and a retro, defined-waist silhouette with collars, bows and puff sleeves.

Does Kate Middleton wear Alessandra Rich?

Yes, repeatedly. The Princess of Wales wore the navy polka-dot midi for the 2018 portrait for King Charles’s seventieth birthday and for D-Day 75 in 2019, a custom azure polka dot for the Platinum Jubilee Big Lunch and Wimbledon in 2022, and a black and white polka dot at Garter Day 2023 and the VE Day 80 service in May 2025.

Is Alessandra Rich made in Italy?

Yes. The house states that its collections are made entirely in Italy, and every piece at Coveti carries Made in Italy on its product page, the shoes included.

Who owns Alessandra Rich?

It is an independent house. Alessandra Rich designs the collections and her husband, a third-generation art dealer, runs the business side, as she described in a 2016 interview. No group ownership has been reported.

Does Coveti sell authentic Alessandra Rich?

Yes. Every one of the 306 Alessandra Rich pieces at Coveti is authentic, verified before dispatch and shipped worldwide by DHL Express and FedEx. See the logistics and returns protocol for delivery, duties and the 14-day return window.

Read next

Alessandra Rich history and timeline | every Princess of Wales appearance, dated | is Alessandra Rich a luxury brand | brands like Alessandra Rich

All the Alessandra Rich guides at Coveti

How to style the polka-dot dress | Brands like Alessandra Rich | Fall Winter 2026 edit | Polka-dot dresses | The Princess of Wales dresses | Is Alessandra Rich a luxury brand | Price guide | Size guide | Sale guide | Where to buy | Real vs fake | Shoes | Alessandra Rich vs Zimmermann | Alessandra Rich vs Rasario | Wedding guest dresses | Dresses | Midi dresses | Mini dresses | Evening gowns | Skirts | Tops and blouses | Jackets and coats | Knitwear | Black dresses | White and ivory | Blue dresses | Tweed and boucle | Lace dresses | Sequins and crystal | Bows and collars | Floral and printed silk | History and timeline | Glossary | Materials and care. Shop the full Alessandra Rich collection at Coveti.

Sources and method

Checked on 18 September 2026. Facts about the house come from the sources below; prices, counts and stock come from the live Coveti catalogue on that date and change with the season.

• Alessandra Rich, About the brand
• South China Morning Post, 7 April 2016, interview with Alessandra Rich
• HELLO!, 30 May 2019, Alessandra Rich on Princess Diana as a muse
• Grazia, 16 May 2019, the navy polka-dot dress
• Kate Middleton Style, 5 July 2022, the azure polka-dot dress
• WWD, 8 May 2025, VE Day 80 service of thanksgiving
• Vogue Runway, Alessandra Rich designer page
• Coveti product data for the 306 Alessandra Rich pieces on sale on 18 September 2026 (prices in USD, compositions, sizes, seasons)

Gemma Deeks is Fashion Editor at Coveti. Prices, stock and counts on this page were checked against coveti.com and alessandrarich.com on 18 September 2026.