British designer’s site crashes after Carrie Johnson dons £485 fuchsia dress

The brand clarified that Johnson bought the dress herself

While it may have been Boris Johnson’s farewell tour yesterday, which saw the former prime minister make his final speech in London in the morning before flying to Scotland to meet with the Queen, all eyes were on his wife, Carrie.

Carrie Johnson, who married Boris in May last year and shares two children with the former PM, wore a backless fuchsia dress for the occasion – a move that crashed the designer’s website.

The long sleeve maxi dress from Harmur includes a ruched waist and fluted sleeves, and retails for £485.

The backless element is a signature of the brand, which was founded in 2017 by mother and daughters, Minnie, Matilda and Constance Murphy.

The brand’s site says: “Harmur is for women who want to look and feel sexy and feminine without having to reveal all … it’s the backless alternative to conventional low-cut.”

After Johnson was pictured in the dress, the brand saw a high number of visitors to its site. At one stage there were over 500 people looking at the dress on site at the same time.

A spokesperson for the brand told the Guardianthat Johnson bought the dress herself. “We really appreciate that she supports young brands like ourselves. It’s really lovely to think that she fell in love with the dress enough to wear it today. She wore it so well,” they said.

Carrie and Boris Johnson at Balmoral on 6 September (Getty Images)

When Johnson first entered Downing Street with Boris three years ago in a floral dress from Ghost, it marked the first time a girlfriend of the prime minister had lived at No. 10.

Currently head of communications at The Aspinall Foundation, Johnson has made several sustainable fashion choices during her time in Downing Street, including renting her wedding dress, and wearing a rented Emilia Wickstead dress to Ascot earlier this year.