At the 2024 Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, Elizabeth Debicki took home the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series trophy for portraying Princess Diana in the final season of Netflix's The Crown. Accepting her award onstage and walking the Emmys red carpet hardly an hour before, everyone from online commentators to TV correspondents said her square-neck, black velvet Dior gown could have been pulled from the late royal's wardrobe.
The dress's square neckline and weighty black fabric did seem somewhat reminiscent of a floral-embroidered gown Princess Diana wore for a charity event at London’s Bridgewater House back in November 1995; her glossy, minimal makeup by Misha Shahzada, bubble bath nails by Yoko Sakakura, and swept-back layered bun by DJ Quintero seemed equally Lady Di-coded. And when Elizabeth Debicki was preparing for her Emmy moment, she admitted she had her iconic character's energy in mind.
"It was the first thing I saw on the rack, and I just knew that I was going to go towards that dress," Debicki tells me from her getting-ready space before the show, with a pre-carpet avocado toast in hand.
"I don't mean this to sound like too on the nose, but it's quite—" the actress pauses for a moment, "regal. It feels like a very, for me, princessy dress, really. It's a sort of silhouette that when I was really young, I would have just thought, Oh, my gosh. That's the most beautiful dress I've ever seen."
The dress is the latest collaboration between Debicki and stylist Elizabeth Saltzman, a partnership that started with the Season Five premiere of The Crown—Debicki's first since being cast as Princess Diana. Over the ensuing three years of press junkets, premieres, and awards shows, the pair has honed in on looks that balance simplicity and elegance while working with Debicki's stature. (Those include a dreamy ice blue, backless Armani gown for the 2024 SAG Awards and a mirrored gold dress for the Golden Globes.) "Elizabeth is such a champion of all the women she works with," Debicki says. "She always wants you to feel so comfortable in your own skin."
Their dresses—last night's Emmys gown included—always started with what both Elizabeths wanted. Parallels to Princess Diana's real-life wardrobe weren't always intentional, but they'd sometimes subconsciously manifest in the looks.
"Princess Diana was truly a fashion icon—whatever you do, she has sort of done it already," Debicki says. "So we would learn that even when we would say, 'Oh, okay, we'll just go in this direction because we really love this. I've never worn something like this, and it feels fresh and new for us.' Then we would see the next day a sort of photo and we would think, huh! I guess it actually, really does look like that dress that Princess Di wore."
Debicki and Saltzman considered the black velvet Dior gown a grand finale to their three-year partnership. The Emmys marked Debicki's last red carpet attended in support of The Crown's cast and crew; win or lose, it would be a meaningful night. That sense of purpose manifested in the clean lines and commanding but refined shape. "It's kind of reverential. There's something about it that feels like it has a beautiful weight to it. There's the structure of the dress itself, physically, and just the space a dress like that takes up. It sort of knows itself, and it's very solid and kind of strong, and I think that that's just how we wanted to finish," Debicki explains.
There's been more to Debicki's journey with The Crown than stepping into the shoes—and gowns—of one of modern history's most influential women. Her own sense of style has come into focus with each red carpet. "I have learned to trust myself more. By that, I mean, to trust my instincts on what it is I feel like wearing," she says.
She'll still make references if and when it's appropriate. "I think every time you do a carpet, it's just sort of a little show, it's like a little performance. You can say something with it and create a sort of character."
The next time Debicki plays a red carpet part, it won't be in reference to Princess Diana. Standing in front of her peers in her Dior gown, the star gave a touching farewell to the woman she embodied for so many years. "Playing this part based on this unparalleled, incredible human being has been my great privilege," Debicki said. "It has been a gift."
