The Giorgio Armani dress worn by the Duchess of Sussex during her CBS special with Oprah has been named dress of the year by the Fashion Museum in Bath.
A version of the black and white silk georgette dress will go on display at the museum as the final item in its headline exhibition, A History Of Fashion In 100 Objects.
The museum described the two-hour interview special, in which Harry and Meghan made a series of explosive allegations against the royal family, as “one of the defining pop-cultural moments of 2021”.
For the interview, the duchess wore a dress featuring lotus flower embroidery, which the museum says had a “symbolic association with rebirth, self-regeneration and spiritual enlightenment, and its ability to flourish despite seemingly challenging conditions”.
She completed the outfit with a matching belt from Giorgio Armani’s Spring/Summer 2022 Cruise Collection.
Each year, the museum invites a figure from the fashion industry to select a dress that represents the previous 12 months.
Dazed magazine’s Ibrahim Kamara and Gareth Wrighton were chosen this year, after their Dress of Hope was named dress of the year for 2020.
They said: “In today’s hyper-stylised pop culture, the Dress of the Year now has the potential to also be ‘meme of the year’ and we both latched upon Meghan and Harry’s now iconic interview with Oprah as the definitive anti-establishment moment that will forever endure in the British collective consciousness.
“Meghan’s wrap dress by Armani, worn to showcase a divine pregnancy, framed the Duchess in black against the bountiful landscaping of Tyler Perry’s Hollywood garden.
“This look now, through sheer association with a viral television moment, is firmly engrained in our pop culture psyche.”
Rosemary Harden, manager of the Fashion Museum, said: “This is a fabulous addition to the Fashion Museum collection. There are moments in history that are all about the dress and Meghan’s interview with Oprah was just such an occasion.
“The softly structured Armani dress with beautiful appliqued lotus flower motif was part of a carefully curated look, guaranteed to send messages, and to imprint itself in our consciousness time and time again.
“Thank you to Ibrahim and Gareth for this landmark selection for the Dress of the Year Collection, and to Armani for most generously gifting the dress to the Museum.”
