Replicas of Princess Diana's head-turning Jacques Azagury ‘Famous Five’ gowns just went up for auction, and we're reminiscing on how gorgeous they looked on her.
Moroccan designer Jacques Azagury may not be a name you immediately recognize, but he plays a huge role in Princess Diana's later years - he designed many post-divorce dresses for her, commonly known as the "Famous Five." These dresses are famously touted as "revenge dresses" (although not the revenge dress, which was designed by Christina Stambolian), as she wore all of the rather glamorous designs in the years leading up to, as well as after, her divorce from then-Prince Charles in 1996.
Jacques has taken to the task of replicating all of these famous five dresses, and is now putting them up for auction so that other people can breathe new life into the gowns.
Jacques told The Times that he wants to pass the joy to someone else. "Each dress that I made for Diana was special for me and I have had a great joy from these dresses for over 20 years, but now [...] I would like that joy to pass to someone else and it can continue to be shared," he said.
The pieces are set to collect somewhere between £10,000 and £20,000 each - however, given the historical significance of the dresses, despite them not being the originals, they could end up going for much more.
Among the dresses Jacques replicated includes Diana's sparkling black gown, which she wore to the Tate’s centenary gala, which fell on Diana’s 36th birthday in July 1997. In fact, when Diana received the dress from Jacques, she wrote him a personal letter, thanking him for the gorgeous design. "I was quite overcome on opening your parcel! I am absolutely thrilled to have been given such a beautiful dress for my birthday," the note read - and a replication of the note will be sold with the dress for whichever lucky person purchases it.
Although all five of the "famous five" will go down in history as some of the most iconic gowns ever made, perhaps the most recognizable is Di's "Swan Lake" mini dress, which will also be replicated by Jacques and sold. The sparkly pastel blue mini dress was worn when the Princess attended a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall - and unfortunately, this would prove to be her last public appearance before her death on 31 August, 1997.
Interested in purchasing these replicas? The auction will take place in Cornwall on 7 December, 2023. If you're feeling particularly boujie and extravagant this Christmas, perhaps they could make for a nice gift? If you have £20,000 laying around, that is.
