Kate Middleton Effect Boosts Floral Face Masks' Popularity; Searches For Item Surge

Kate Middleton has popularized yet another trend: floral face masks.

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a chic floral face mask when she stepped out on Aug. 4 to visit Baby Basics, a U.K. charity that acts as a food bank for baby supplies like diapers and food for families in need.

For her first engagement of the month, Middleton rocked a Suzannah white button-down dress and Tabitha Simmons pumps. But though her outfit had caught the eye of royal-watchers, it was her face covering that caused a frenzy. Lyst, a data aggregator, reported that the searches for "floral face masks" increased by 185% in less than a day.

Amid the popularity of face coverings due to the coronavirus pandemic, Middleton's cloth mask from Amaia sold out quickly after photos of the duchess sporting one were released.

A day after her outing, Middleton paired her Emilia Wickstead dress with a floral face mask with a different pattern when she and husband Prince William headed to South Wales to visit the Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff, People reported.

The duchess selling out pieces, crashing websites and causing spikes in searches for her items are all part of the “Kate Middleton effect,” and this wasn’t the first time it has been seen in action.

Middleton has helped brands simply by wearing their products, and designers are aware of her massive influence.

In a Marie Claire interview, the founder of high street brand Reiss admitted that the future queen had a major impact on the label, saying, “The surge in web traffic following the release of these images [of Kate wearing the brand’s Shola dress in 2011] caused our website to crash. The dress promptly sold out online when service was resumed.”

Middleton is also known for helping relatively unknown brands gain recognition. Ethical label Beulah was one of those that got a boost after she wore its creation.

“We were a relatively unknown and young label, and it definitely helped spread the word about us and the cause that we support,” founder Natasha Rufus Isaacs said.

The same can be said of Meghan Markle, who also has the power to help brands get their names out there.

Australian brand Veja felt the Duchess of Sussex’s power over fashion when she wore a pair of V10 sneakers for the Invictus Games in 2018. At the time, the searches for the trainers rose by 11% after the former actress was pictured sporting them, Elle reported.