LONDON—The bride's dress Friday was a coup for fashion house Alexander McQueen— whose future was uncertain just a year ago in the wake of its British founder's suicide—and an inspiration for retailers who said the gown's polished style would set trends for wedding and evening wear.  The dress worn by royal bride Kate Middleton, now known as the duchess of Cambridge, was designed by Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, which is owned by France's PPR SA. The news that Ms. Burton had won the coveted assignment was unveiled after months of secrecy when Ms. Middleton stepped out of the car at Westminster Abbey at 10:58 a.m. local time on Friday.  The biggest-kept secret is out: Alexander McQueen's Sarah Burton designed Catherine Middleton's wedding dress. Elva Ramirez and Bruce Orwall join Kelsey Hubbard to discuss the excitement for the opening parts of the most watched wedding in history. (Photo courtesy Getty Images.)  Ms. Middleton wanted her dress to "combine tradition and modernity with the artistic vision that characterizes Alexander McQueen's work," according to a statement on the official wedding website.  Catherine Middleton's dress was designed by Sarah Burton of the Alexander McQueen fashion house.  Fashion industry executives said the royal commission all but secured the long-term survival of the brand, which was unclear after Mr. McQueen's death in February 2010, and even after the appointment of Ms. Burton, his head womenswear designer.  François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive officer of PPR said in a statement, "I think that the dress is absolutely stunning and we are very proud of Sarah and the team at Alexander McQueen for what they have achieved." Neither company made executives available for interviews.  Princess Diana on her wedding day in 1981. She wore a wedding dress by David and Elizabeth Emmanuel and the Spencer family tiara.  Fashion historians said the dress, which had an ivory satin bodice narrowed at the waist and padded at the hips, clearly evoked Mr. McQueen who frequently drew on the Victorian tradition of corsetry. Some also said the fitted top and long lace sleeves were reminiscent of the dress Hollywood actress Grace Kelly wore for her 1956 wedding to the prince of Monaco.  The label's moment in the limelight Friday came only days before the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opens an exhibit called "Savage Beauty" dedicated to the work of the late Mr. McQueen on Wednesday.  "For the bride to be wearing McQueen at this moment in time—obviously with the passing of the designer last year, but also with the Savage Beauty show opening in New York—will set the McQueen name in much greater international terms in late 20th and early 21st century fashion history," said Alistair O'Neill, senior research fellow in fashion at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.  While the dress was widely praised, some noted it was hardly fashion-forward. "It was quite conservative," said Pamela Golbin, chief curator of the Paris-based Museum of Fashion and Textiles.  Retail executives, meanwhile, looked ahead at the gown's effect on dress styles and ultimately, apparel sales. "This will have a huge impact," said Colleen Sherin, senior fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. "It will have an influence on wedding wear and translate into trends in evening wear," she said. Saks was particularly pleased with the wedding dress because Ms. Burton will make an appearance at its New York flagship store on Tuesday. The store redecorated six of its windows on Fifth Avenue with pieces from past McQueen collections.  Retailers said the wedding gown's conservative elegance reflects a trend toward restrained, grown-up clothes. Fall collections already contain many such looks, and spring/summer ranges will have even more.  "We are in a very ladylike moment," said Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus in Dallas, who woke before dawn to watch the nuptials. The royal wedding, he noted, firmly established Ms. Burton at the helm of the McQueen brand. "This has secured her as a major fashion player," he said.  At Ms. Burton's runway show in Paris in March, the audience gasped when she sent out models dressed all in white. She closed with tulle-covered gowns that looked like wedding dresses. But even in the gossip-prone fashion world, the company managed to keep its most blue-blooded client a secret to the last minute.  Write to Cecilie Rohwedder at cecilie.rohwedder@wsj.com
Royal bride Kate Middleton's choice of a slender lace wedding dress delivered a coup for the fashion house of Alexander McQueen, the iconic and often controversial British designer who committed suicide last year.