Princess Kate Proves 2026 is the New 2016 with Spring’s Biggest Trend—Get Her Timeless Look 10 Years Later

Princess Kate already nailed the top transitional piece for Spring 2026.

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Princess Kate wears the Suede Trench Trend
(Image credit: Getty Images)

In case you haven’t heard, 2026 is the new 2016 with mid-2010s nostalgia at an all-time high, especially when it comes to fashion. Skinny jeans are sneaking back into style and ballet flats are climbing the trending fashion charts. Princess Kate’s sartorial style has always been hailed as timeless and classic, and this latest trend proves that she was truly ahead of the trend-cycle game. When revisiting her best looks from 2016, her iconic British Vogue cover shoot was a highlight—and you can’t miss one fashion piece that has been hailed as 2026’s top transitional piece for Spring.

When Alexandra Shulman is running your photoshoot, the outfits are destined to be iconic. This couldn’t have been more true for Princess Kate’s British Vogue shoot, celebrating the magazine’s 100th anniversary in collaboration with London’s National Portrait Gallery. Princess Kate graced the cover of the magazine wearing a brown suede trench coat from Burberry, effortlessly straddling a classic bicycle.

Princess Kate Suede Trench Trend

Princess Kate on the cover of British Vogue in 2016.

(Image credit: Vogue)

Brown suede Burberry trench coat Pre-Fall 2016

The brown suede Burberry trench coat Princess Kate wore in 2016.

(Image credit: Burberry)

Catherine, Princess of Wales presents badges as she meets members of the Scouts and Squirrels programme in Frogmore Gardens during the State visit by the President of the United States of America and U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, on September 18, 2025 in Windsor, England.

Princess Kate wears a ME+EM suede cropped jacket at an event with First Lady Melania Trump.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Kate’s trench seemed modern and timeless back in 2016, but in 2026 it is the epitome of cool. Suede trenches are the must-have style hero piece for transitional weather, and it couldn’t be more perfect as Spring temperatures start to climb. In fact, Princess Kate wore a similar cropped-style jacket from ME+EM in 2025 at an event with First Lady Melania Trump, proving that style is cyclical and the trend-cycle is shrinking faster and faster.

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While it may be a while for Princess Kate’s iconic Sledge pumps to come back into style, the brown suede trench is a royally-approved look worth recreating in any era. Shop our favorite lookalike styles:

Christine Ross
Christine Ross
Writer

Christine Ross is a freelancer writer, royal expert, broadcaster and podcaster. She's worked with news outlets including the BBC, Glamour, Talk TV, ET, PBS, CNN and 20/20 to cover the foremost royal events of the last decade, from Prince George’s birth to the coronation of King Charles III.

She previously served as co-host of Royally Us, a weekly royal podcast by Us Weekly. As a freelance writer and royal commentator she provides expert commentary, historical context and fashion analysis about royal families worldwide, with an emphasis on the British Royal Family.