LAST-MINUTE DECISION THAT PROVED TO BE A KNOCKOUT

wear the Revenge Dress. But she got highly irritated when Valentino sent out a press release beforehand saying she was going to wear their dress, because she thought it was presumptuous.

‘It so happened that James Colthurst, who was the intermediary between Diana and me for my book, was on the phone to her that day. Now, James’s fashion sense is, shall we say, country tweed, he has absolutely no clue about fashion. She said to him she was so annoyed with Valentino, and he said, “Well, I don’t know, look, wear something else, something sexy.” She said, “I probably will,” and she picked out the Christina Stambolian dress.

‘The Revenge Dress was key because one thing Diana was good at was that she understood that a picture tells a thousand words, or 10,000 words in her case. She was all jittery that day, I remember. She overreacted to the Valentino dress because she was nervous about what Prince Charles was going to say on TV in the Jonathan Dimbleby interview, what he would say about her and the children and so on. So on the morning of the Serpentine Gallery function she was twitchy, she was nervous, she was out of sorts. By wearing the Revenge Dress and the attention it brought her, I’m sure she thought she had dodged a bullet. Also, Charles admitting his adultery on TV gave

Diana “permission” to speak about her own relationship with James Hewitt in the Martin Bashir TV interview the following year.’

for her. Diana didn’t have any input – she was one of those people who’d just believe in the designer. We were talking about colours and decided on black in the end. She asked her brother what he thought and he said, “You can do exactly what you like.”

‘She thought the dress was daring but then she decided,

“OK, I’d love to have it.” I felt very good about it, very happy and proud. But then I was disappointed as time went by and I didn’t see her wearing it. We were seeing her in newspapers and magazines every day, but I didn’t see that dress. I guess it was a bit too much for her at the time. Then I forgot all about it. I only found out she had worn it to the Serpentine the following day when I saw her picture in the newspapers. I was happy because she looked very sexy and feminine. I was very pleased and decided

I’d better enjoy all the attention. She was unhappy in her marriage. Everyone knew that, so with that dress people were on her side. It was a revenge everyone would agree with.

‘She was more sophisticated by 1994. When she was young

she’d wear anything. She was becoming prettier as she was maturing. She had this aura and everyone adored her.

‘I can’t think of any other person who had so much charisma. She was very beautiful, tall and lovely – and her taste in clothes was just getting better and better. My most vivid memory of Diana is her smile.

She had an innate sense of humour. When I saw her a few years later at Christie’s in

London in 1997 [a preview of the auction of her dresses for charity], she bent down in her beaded Jacques Azagury dress and told me, “I had to squeeze into yours that night!”’