Kate Middleton Wears Black And White Dress Following 2018 BAFTAs Backlash

Kate Middleton will wear what she wants to wear.

A day after the 2018 BAFTA Awards, Middleton and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, stepped out together to attend the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange reception, which they co-hosted. Fashion designers and artisans from 52 countries gathered together for the event, People reported. For the reception, Middleton wore a black and white lace floral print dress by Erdem. Meanwhile, Sophie wore a black dress with red detailing from Burberry.

Among the big names who attended the event are Vogue's Anna Wintour and her new British counterpart Edward Enninful, designer Stella McCartney, supermodel Naomi Campbell, Caroline Rush and Adwoa Aboah. Also in attendance were fashion writer Justine Picardie, handbag designer Anya Hindmarch and ethical fashion activist Livia Firth.

Middleton was spotted chatting with Nigerian designer Nkwo. The latter explained to the Duchess the process of their design.

"I explained to her that everything had been hand sewn. The only time a machine was used was for the lining. She couldn't believe it," Nkwo said. "The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange has been such a wonderful experience. I really hope it will help to put us on the map – not as African fashion, but simply as fashion."

This event comes after the Duchess of Cambridge disappointed a number of her fans and followers when she graced the BAFTAs red carpet in a forest green gown on Sunday. Many were expecting to see her in a black gown to support the Time's Up Movement and #MeToo campaign.

Some were so unhappy with Middleton's choice of gown that they took to social media to air their disappointment. The Duchess apparently failed to show her support for women's rights, so they criticized the royal.

"[Very] disappointed that Kate Middleton didn't wear BLACK in solidarity with other women. I guess she wanted to look different to commoners, the proletariat that pay taxes to support her lifestyle! Shameful!" JohnR EU posted on Twitter.

"Kate Middleton shuns #timesup black dress code, clearly not a woman’s woman! #EEBAFTAs," Twitter user Johanna wrote.

However, others defended Middleton and stressed that the choice of color did not really make a difference for those campaigns. In fact, it caused a division because they slammed those who did not support them. Meanwhile, others noticed the black ribbon in Middleton's gown and interpreted it as her way of supporting the movement.​