Kensington Palace has honoured the late Princess Diana in a brand-new exhibition of her greatest looks; from the demure skirt-suits of her first public appearances to that little black dress from her later life. Here we round up our five favourite looks.
EMANUEL PALE-PINK CHIFFON BLOUSE WITH SATIN NECK-RIBBON
Diana wore this blouse when she was photographed by Lord Snowdon as an ‘upcoming beauty’ for the February 1981 issue of Vogue. The piece ended up coinciding with her engagement announcement, and the ‘Lady Di’ blouse immediately sold out on the high street. Diana loved it so much that she asked its designers, David and Elizabeth Emanuel, to make her wedding dress.
BILL PASHLEY BROWN TWEED DAY-SUIT
Diana asked Bill Pashley to make two versions of this suit in slightly different sizes. For her honeymoon at Balmoral in 1981 she wore the larger one – all that extra shoulder room made getting stuck into country sports like shooting and romping in the heather much easier.
VICTOR EDELSTEIN MIDNIGHT-BLUE SILK-VELVET EVENING DRESS
Diana wore this blue silk-velvet gown to the state dinner at the White House given by President Reagan in 1985, where she famously danced with John Travolta. Pictures of the pair gliding around the dancefloor appeared in newspapers all over the world, and the dress received the highest bid at the Christie’s auction of Diana’s dresses in 1997 – a whopping $222,500.
CATHERINE WALKER BLUE SILK-CHIFFON EVENING GOWN WITH MATCHING SCARF
The Princess first wore this evening gown to the Cannes Film Festival in 1987. She loved films and would often sneak out to her local cinema disguised in a scarf and sunglasses. Sometimes she would copy style ideas from her favourite film stars and for this dress, designer Catherine Walker took inspiration from Grace Kelly’s gown in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief.
CATHERINE WALKER BLACK BEADED SILK-VELVET EVENING DRESS
Diana wore this dress to a UNESCO charity event at the Palace of Versailles in 1994 – Catherine Walker described it as the first ‘sexy’ dress she designed for the Princess.
