Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Even in a flak jacket, the princess was stylish
Diana’s outfits on view in sell-out show
DRIVE past Jelsum in Holland and the road will play you a tune.
Created by specially laid ‘rumble strips’ as a way of livening up journeys across the flat landscape, the novelty has worn thin for locals driven mad by the loud droning melody.
The tune, the Friesland region anthem, is created when vehicles drive over the strips at 60km/h.
“Last Saturday (with all the speeding taxis)… the anthem played all night at high speed,” said resident Ria Jansma.
The authorities agreed to remove the strips this week, the Leeuwarder Courant reported. – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA)
Ruby chocolate hits the mark
NESTLE will launch a ruby chocolate version of its KitKat brand in UK next week after its recent debut in Japan and South Korea, the Swiss food group said this week. The pink confectionery is made from ruby cocoa beans and does not contain colouring or berries.
The innovative move is part of an effort by Nestle to push its confectionery creations upmarket.
This version of the four-fingered KitKat will be available from British Tesco stores for 85 pence (about R14.41) a pack, Nestle announced. – Reuters/African News Agency (ANA) THE image of Diana, Princess of Wales, strolling across a live African minefield is one of the most iconic photographs of her ever taken.
Now the public will be able to recall the moment in person, as Princes William and Harry have lent one of the outfits from their mother’s trip to Angola to an exhibition on her fashion legacy.
The Halo- branded flak jacket donned by the princess, a sleeveless blue shirt and Armani chinos worn on the trip are among three outfits the brothers still own and have lent to Diana: Her Fashion Story.
The sell- out exhibition at Kensington Palace was launched last year to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.
The princes have several pieces of clothing of their mother’s in their possession.
The other two outfits they are allowing to be displayed are almost as iconic. One is the pink Bellville Sassoon suit Diana wore to board the train for her honeymoon in 1981, the other a purple Versace evening dress worn to a Chicago fundraising gala in 1996.
The outfits are an interesting contrast, one encapsulat- ing the girlish “shy Di” of the early years of her marriage, the other a sexy and confident post- divorce princess. The three ensembles are among eight to go on show at Diana’s former home from April 26 in the exhibition organised by the Historic Royal Palaces charity.
They include the full-length Yuki blue dress she wore on a trip to Japan in 1986, the red and black gown she wore to a Pavarotti charity concert for the Red Cross in 1995, and a light blue silk day dress worn on a tour to New Zealand in 1983 with Prince Charles and a baby Prince William.
Diana loved fashion, and while she sometimes baulked at being seen as a clothes horse, she frequently used her wardrobe to focus media attention on the causes she cared so passionately about – or to send out a message about what was going on in her life.
Eleri Lynn, exhibition curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said: “Diana was one of the most photographed women in the world, and it’s no coincidence that so many of her outfits are now among the most easily recognisable in fashion history. Through Diana: Her Fashion Story we explore the evolution of a young woman who had to first learn the rules of royal and diplomatic dressing, then master the art of creating her own signature style.
“We’re delighted this year visitors to Kensington Palace will have the chance to see more of the Princess’s show-stopping wardrobe.”
Diana visited war- torn Angola in 1997, seven months before her death, as a guest of the International Red Cross. She wanted to see the effects of landmines and meet some of their victims.
She famously walked through a live minefield to highlight the work of the Halo Trust, a charity working to remove them. But her actions triggered a diplomatic storm after she was accused of wading into an issue that was “too political”.
However, her visit focused international attention on to a relatively unknown humanitarian crisis.
The outfit on display comprises her Armani trousers and blue sleeveless denim shirt – in which she was pictured talking to children injured by blasts – and the Halo flak jacket
‘Singing’ road to lose its jingle
she donned for her memorable walk across the minefield
Sassoon was also commis- sioned to create the princess’s trousseau for her new life as a working royal. –Daily Mail