The power of a fashion statement
The one-shoulder beaded white Hachi gown she wore in Melbourne was deemed “too revealing” something that seems laughable today.
THE crowd gasped and cameras flashed as Princess Diana walked, arm extended, to the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park.
Clad in a figure-hugging black mini-dress, pearl choker, scarlet nails and black stilettos, she radiated glamour.
That same evening in June 1994, Prince Charles’ televised confession that he had been unfaithful with Camilla Parker Bowles was airing.
But all anyone could talk about was Diana, in what became known as the “revenge dress”. The Christina Stambolian frock was an inspired choice – one that almost didn’t happen, as the Greek designer revealed Diana had had it for three years but hadn’t had the courage to wear it.
Until now: The sexy black dress showed a confident new Diana that was here to stay.
She had come a long way from the Shy Di the world met in 1980, in her modest blouses and frumpy skirts – famously snapped with her cotton skirt see-through in the sunshine.
She dressed conservatively at first, but even then started trends. The pale pink chiffon Emanuel blouse she borrowed for a Vogue shoot in 1981 prompted pussy-bow “Lady Di blouses” to sell out.
Her first formal outfit was a black Emanuel gown she wore to a concert in 1981, and the low-cut decolletage hit the headlines. “I learned a lesson that night,” Diana said.
She would wear the brand again of course, for her wedding gown – a puff-sleeved, ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown with a 7.6m train and 10,000 pearls and sequins.
Designer Elizabeth Emanuel said Diana wanted to outdo all previous royal brides.
Diana’s fashion choices grew alongside her confidence. The one-shoulder beaded white Hachi gown she wore in Melbourne in 1983 was deemed “too revealing” – something that seems laughable today.
Then there was the midnight blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown she wore in 1985 to the White House, when she famously danced with John Travolta; and the white-beaded Catherine Walker dress with high-collared jacket she wore in Hong Kong in 1989 that became known as the Elvis dress.
After her separation from Charles, Diana grew more daring and began wearing international labels she admired, like Versace, Ralph Lauren and Valentino.
By the time she came to Sydney in 1996, to open the Victor Chang Institute, she was at the pinnacle of her style, in her stunning blue, one-shouldered Versace shift.
“We watched her evolve through her clothes,” said Edwina McCann, editor of Australian Vogue.
By 1997, Diana, 36, had never looked better.
“It was amazing to see her transformation,” said designer Valentino.
“Just looking into her sparkling eyes, you could tell how finally she was free, so happy, herself.”
And so it was fitting that in June that year, she decided to put her lavish wardrobe to good use in an auction at Christie’s in New York, raising $4.4 million for AIDS and cancer charities.
Twenty years on, those clothes came home to Kensington Palace for the exhibition Diana: Her Fashion Story.
The queues were so long, the palace installed crowd control measures.
Exhibition curator Eleri Lynn told Vanity Fair the princess had fun with fashion and enjoyed experimenting with different looks but was good at choosing clothes that suited her rather than slavishly following the latest trend.
“That’s what sort of takes somebody above daily fashion and helps make them a fashion icon: they have that elegance that is theirs and doesn’t move with the changes of fashion.”