As the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, gears up for her and husband Prince William's week-long tour of India and Bhutan, the fashion world is starting to think about the outfits that the royal might choose to wear.Queen of diplomatic dressing, we all know Kate loves to give a nod to her host country with her outfits – for her tour of Southeast Asia in 2012, she wore a dress by Singapore-born designer Prabal Gurung for a state dinner hosted by the President of Singapore, she sported Canadian designer Erdem's creations during her trip to Canada in 2011 and Kate sported a black dress embroidered with silver ferns, the emblem of New Zealand, for her tour of the country in 2014.
Kate during her tour of New Zealand in 2014
With this in mind, we're first turning our attention to Indian designers.Our first bet is on Saloni, a London-based brand whose founder, Saloni Lodha, was born in India. Just days after the royal was officially announced last year, Kate stepped out for The Fostering Awards wearing a £555 chic blue dress by the fashion house.The choice implied that Kate was already considering her tour outfits, and we wouldn't be surprised if she recycled the exact dress – it looked stunning on the pretty brunette.
Kate wore this striking blue dress from Saloni just days after announcing the tour
The brand has long been championed by her husband's cousin Princess Beatrice, who was photographed with Saloni at a preview of their Autumn/Winter 2013 collection.
Saloni would be the perfect choice for Kate, given its roots in both Britain and India. Speaking about her brand, the founder recently said: "I always keep in mind my Indian heritage while designing but don't translate it literally into our clothes. "I think the way we as a brand celebrate bold colours and patterns is our way of bringing the spirit of India into the collections. "We've picked out our top three dresses from the latest collection that we can totally see Kate rocking. The first and third are silk, while the red number is cotton, so all three are suitable for the hot temperatures in India.
Our top picks from Saloni
Another Indian designer we're hedging our bets on Kate wearing is Ritu Kumar. The label already has a royal connection close to Kate's heart – when Princess Diana visited Pakistan in 1997, she visited the Shaumat Memoriam Hospital wearing a traditional Indian outfit by the designer.
We can see Saloni customising the red dress, adding short sleeves so it would be a more appropriate option for the royal.
Princess Diana wore this traditional Indian outfit by the designer in 1997
We picked out two potential 'Churidar' suits from Ritu Kamar's website – similar to what Diana wore, the outfit would be a great way for Kate to fully embrace traditional Indian fashion.
One of her favourite high street brands is Reiss, and the British label have lots of pretty new collection dresses bound to appeal to the royal. Here are our top three picks – we reckon the block-blue creation is a sure winner.
We might see Kate sporting one of these Ritu Kumar designs
Known for championing high street brands, we expect Kate to mix up her designer looks.
So our money's on the two British designers making an appearance in Kate's tour wardrobe.
A quick look on Alexander McQueen's website reveals a whole host of dresses perfectly suited to the royal. The long ivory gown would look incredible for one of the evening engagements...
Our top picks for Kate's tour from Reiss
Kate's two all-time favourite designers are Jenny Packham and Alexander McQueen, the fashion house behind her incredible wedding dress, and she's rarely completed a tour without wearing creations from both.
Alexander McQueen has a host of princess-perfect looks
We'll be keeping you updated with all of Kate's tour looks so watch this space!
As would this Jenny Packham number, though we can see Kate asking the designer to add capped sleeves on.
We can see Kate sporting this Jenny Packham gown, maybe with the addition of capped sleeves
Kate and William will head to Bhutan towards the end of the tour. Bhutan will be considerably colder than India, with temperatures dropping from around 38 degrees Celsius to around 10.The thrifty royal is likely to recycle some of her many coat looks for the cooler temperatures and add tights underneath her dresses.
