Kate Middleton, the style queen: Duchess of Cambridge named biggest fashion influencer of 2020

From floral day dresses to vintage Oscar de la Renta – look back at the royal's fashion highlights over the past year

The Duchess of Cambridge wears The Vampire's Wife to attend a reception at the Guinness Storehouse's Gravity Bar, hosted by the British Ambassador to Ireland in Dublin, Ireland, on March 3, 2020. EPA

The Duchess of Cambridge wears vintage 1980s Oscar de la Renta to visit the Museum of Literature Ireland in Dublin on Wednesday, March 4. Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge's casual looks were among her most popular, including this bright orange Really Wild jumper with Zara skinny jeans, which she wore to watch Gaelic football and hurling in Galway, Ireland, on March 5. Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wears a pink Marks & Spencer suit to work from home at Kensington Palace on March 30. She later re-wore the trousers for a Park Parenting Meet-up in September. Kensington Palace / Instagram

The duchess wears a white scalloped Sandro cardigan for a Zoom call with volunteers from the charity Shout on May 15. She is credited with search interest in scalloped cardigans. Instagram / Kensington Royal

The Duchess of Cambridge wore a broderie anglaise Mabel Shirt by MiH Jeans to speak on a Zoom call during Volunteer Week on June 5 .She is thought to be behind a spike in searches for broderie anglaise. Instagram / Kensington Royal

The Duchess of Cambridge's most popular look of 2020, a Marie-Louise Midi Dress by Faithfull the Brand, which she wore during a visit to The Nook children's hospice in Norfolk on June 25. The floral look was one of a string of flowery dresses she wore last summer. Getty Images

A departure from florals, the Duchess of Cambridge wears black and white Emilia Wickstead polka dots to launch the Tiny Happy People programme on July 13. Instagram / Kensington Royal

The Duchess of Cambridge wears a blue floral Aurora dress by Emilia Wickstead to visit to Barry Island, South Wales, with the Duke of Cambridge, on August 5. Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wears red floral Calla Dress by Beulah London to arrive at the London Bridge Jobcentre with the Duke of Cambridge on September 15. Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge is behind a spike in searches for 'checkered overcoats', seen here wearing a Massimo Dutti coat over a light blue jumper by the same brand to visit students at the University of Derby on October 6. Getty Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wears a red double-breasted Alexander McQueen coat over a pleated Massimo Dutti skirt to arrive for the launch of the Hold Still campaign at Waterloo Station, London, on October 20. Getty Images

For a Remembrance Day Zoom call, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a scalloped Ghost blouse on November 11. Instagram / Kensington Royal

Searches for 'scalloped' rose after the duchess wore the Abercorn Scallop Cardigan by Boden for a video to discuss her Hold Still project on November 14. Instagram / Kensington Royal

The duchess has worn this Gucci blouse in the past, but repeated it for an Instagram Q&A video about early childhood in the UK on November 30. Instagram / Kensington Royal

She may be known as a duchess for now, but it seems that Kate Middleton is a true style queen.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge has been named the UK's top fashion influencer in 2020, based on the number of searches made by people seeking to to replicate her looks. The royal beat This Morning host Holly Willoughby and sister-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who took the second and third spots respectively.

The research, complied by Love the Sales, analyses spikes in sales and searches when public figures wore certain looks last year.

For the duchess, her most popular outfit was a floral dress midi dress by Australian label Faithfull the Brand, which saw sales increase by 112 per cent after she wore it in June. The dress reportedly sold out in 24 hours.

For much of the year, the royal was only seen via Instagram posts and on Zoom calls, which both she and Prince William regularly took part in.

For many of the calls, she recycled familiar pieces from her wardrobe, including a bespoke yellow crepe Roksanda Ilincic dress, which she first wore in 2014 on a tour of Australia. As fans couldn't get their hands on doubles of the actual piece, it was noted that searches for "yellow crepe dresses" went up by 51 per cent in June.

It seems that, overall, her more casual looks were the most popular. Other style searches Catherine seems to have had an impact on include "broderie anglaise shirts", which increased by 106 per cent; "scalloped cardigans", which increased by 67 per cent; and "checkered overcoats", which increased by 32 per cent.

Last year, the royal delighted fashion fans by wearing a number of brands new to her wardrobe, including The Vampire's Wife and Faithfull The Brand, as well as a vintage Oscar de la Renta dress, which was marked as a major departure from her more contemporary style.

Click though the gallery above to look back at some of the duchess's most stylish moments of 2020. 

It is not just her sartorial choices that are notably popular. The Duchess of Cambridge's sapphire and diamond engagement ring, which was given to her by Prince William on their engagement in 2010, was voted the world's most popular last year. The ring was famously previously sported by William's mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

In a study commissioned by the Natural Diamond Council, a fifth of 2,000 participants named the duchess's oval-cut gem as their favourite engagement ring. The 12-carat sapphire, surrounded by a halo of white diamonds, just pipped the ring worn by the royal's sister-in-law to the post.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's jewellery came in second place, with her trilogy ring designed by Prince Harry. The central diamond sourced from Botswana, flanked by two smaller diamonds from Princess Diana’s personal jewellery collection, garnered 18 per cent of the study's votes.