Over the past year, as both Nigella Lawson and Tulisa Contostavlos have strode into court to defy allegations against them (though Nigella was never actually on trial), much focus has been on court dress. Or court face. Basically, their appearance. In fact, what women wear to court has become so important that, as she accompanied husband Professor Green on a court date, ex-Made In Chelsea star Millie Mackintosh documented her monochrome look as part of an Instagram #outfitoftheday, making sure to cite each item of clothing she was wearing and where she had got it from.
READ MORE: Millie Mackintosh Is Trying To Make Court Dressing 'A Thing'
This idea of court dress – not the clothes that you wear to a medieval court, but what you wear when in court – has been taken on by Ami Denborg, the sister of Anni Dewani, who was murdered in 2010.
At each day of the trial of her brother-in-law, Shrien Dewani – who is facing charges relating to allegedly arranging the murder of his wife while on their honeymoon – Ami has been wearing the clothes of her dead 28-year-old sister in order to have her ‘presence’ in court, a source told The Mirror.
‘She misses her every day and wanted to feel close to Anni during the murder trial,’ they said. ‘Ami wanted to give Anni a presence in the courtroom and decided to wear her loving sister’s clothes to be close to her during these difficult days.’
While that might not be exactly what Ami’s thinking, we can see she’s been wearing a picture of Anni on her left lapel as she enters the court house in Cape Town, South Africa. Regardless of her intentions, it’s putting the focus squarely back on to Anni, and what happened to her.
Shrien Dewani, a care home owner from Bristol, is pleading not guilty to all charges. After being extradited from Britain to South Africa to face trial, he’s explained to the court that he’s bisexual, and has had loving relationships with women, and flings with men. The prosecution pointed out that this might not explain why he was logging into gay dating sites days after his wife was shot in the neck.
Anni was killed by Mziwamadoda Qwabe, Xolile Mngeni and taxi driver Zola Tongo, who are all serving sentences for their crimes. Tongo had taken the couple to a shanty town at their request on the first day of their honeymoon following a £200k wedding. Anni was then killed by Qwabe and Mngeni. However, both Qwabe and Tongo accuse Shrien of organising the killing.
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Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.