London - The Duchess of Cambridge has been declared the queen of lockdown fashion – with five of her Zoom outfits selling out within days or even hours.

Kate is now the British royal family’s senior trendsetter, her virtual appearances inspiring shoppers to snap up everything from a £39.50 (about R850) Marks & Spencer dress to a £495 tree print silk dress by Raey.

Demand for the duchess’s lockdown looks has boosted global fashion searches by an average of 86 percent, according to research.

From the other side of the Atlantic, by contrast, the Duchess of Sussex’s outfits have seen searches rise by just 35 percent since March.

This is perhaps due to the fact Meghan, 38, no longer carries out official royal engagements and has no social media presence at present, after the Sussex Royal Instagram feed was shut down.

The research, by Love the Sales, is based on Google searches, page views and sales figures from a database of four million British shoppers on its website.

Looking at every outfit worn publicly by Kate, 38, and Meghan from April to June this year, Kate’s 16 outfits – many "repeats" – cost a total of £6 305 and Meghan’s six cost £1 105.

Kate’s mustard puff sleeve top from Zara, worn during a Zoom call in April, sparked a 41 percent increase in global fashion searches for "mustard coloured tops".

And a £129 Ghost dress worn for a family NHS clap on April 23 sold out quick as a flash after a 121 percent increase in searches for the dress.

It was such a hit that Ghost donated profits from the line to NHS charities.

Fashion experts said Kate has nailed the trend for dressing "from the waist upwards" during lockdown, while celebrity stylist Jessie Stein said: "The public has seen a different, more personal side of Kate during lockdown and she has embraced summery styles in her outfit choices."

Daily Mail