The symbolic “revenge dress” worn by Diana, Princess of Wales told the world that she was “taking back the narrative”, a fashion expert has said.
The black silk gown was unveiled in Mayfair, central London, before it goes on sale at auction, where it is expected to fetch upwards of £220,000.
It comes as Diana has been back in the headlines amid a war of words between Buckingham Palace and Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, whose book serialised in the Daily Mail has levelled accusations at the King.
The earl claimed that Charles, then the Prince of Wales, told him, “rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”, days after Diana’s death in 1997.
Diana was photographed wearing the black silk gown three years before, in 1994, on the same night her then-husband Charles publicly admitted his infidelity on national television.
Morgane Halimi, global head of handbags and fashion at Sotheby’s, the auction house where the dress will go under the hammer, told the Press Association: “What makes it so particular is the moment she chose to wear this dress, it was a moment in her life where she was exposed and she could have seemed fragile.
“But instead, she chose to wear this dress to express a form of self-confidence and to express to the world that she was taking back the narrative.”
Diana turned heads with the outfit as it broke traditional expectations of royal dress with its colour, its plunging neckline and its above-the-knee hemline and it was dubbed the “revenge dress” in the tabloids.
“It was important because she decided that she would express herself with the dress and this is what she wanted to say at that time,” said Ms Halimi.
“No matter what she was supposed to do, she decided to do what she wanted.
“And I think it’s such a universal message that she was sending: ‘I’m here, and I stand for myself.’
“And this is so empowering.”
Asked about the importance of the dress now, Ms Halimi said: “This dress says that you can use fashion as a way of communication, and I think this is what was so new at that time when she wore that dress, and is now part of what we can see in daily life.
“You use fashion to communicate, but this was probably the first time it was used in that sense.”
Diana originally wore the dress with a choker made from a royal brooch, a black clutch and black pumps, and the ensemble has been widely hailed for inspiring decades of fashion and popular culture.
The dress was unveiled at Sotheby’s auction house, where it will be on display to the public until September 24 before being exhibited in Hong Kong and Geneva.
It will be up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York in December.
