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

The brand clarified that Johnson bought the dress herself

Laura Hampson
Wednesday 07 September 2022 07:49 BST
Comments
Boris and Carrie Johnson applauded as they leave Downing Street for final time

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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
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.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in