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Turn the page for the inspiration behind this year’s must-see exhibition
Diana: Her Fashion Story
When she won Britain’s heart as a blushing royal bride, few could have foreseen quite how quickly Lady Diana Spencer would transform from ‘Shy Di’ into the dazzling Princess of Wales. Now, an exhibition at Kensington Palace, Diana: Her Fashion Story, shows how she took charge of her style evolution to such stunning effect.
Throughout her years in the public eye, Diana wore thousands of outfits, yet for Eleri Lynn, the Historic Royal Palaces curator who masterminded the display, the most fascinating is also one of the most understated: a strapless dress by high- end couturier Regamus (far right), which she wore to a 1979 ball at Althorp as a teenager.
‘It’s the key to the exhibition,’ says Eleri. ‘We chart the journey Diana made from this gown to global fashion icon. This is dress zero.’ In fact, it was the only one that the young Diana owned. ‘Some people say that she only had three items of clothing: this dress, a smart shirt and a nice pair of shoes,’ says Eleri. ‘She borrowed other items from the two friends she lived with – they shared a wardrobe.’
Diana’s fashion journey started when her mother took her to the couturier Bellville Sassoon for her wedding trousseau. Designer David Sassoon created Diana’s going-away suit, and outfits such as the off-the-shoulder dress she wore for the opening of the 1981 Splendours of the Gonzaga exhibition (the day before announcing she was pregnant, see page 45) and the scarlet evening gown (see page 39) she wore to meet Rudolf Nureyev in 1982, which was also part of her trousseau.
It wasn’t long before Diana became a keen collaborator with other designers including Jasper Conran, Roland Klein, Bruce Oldfield, Elizabeth and David Emanuel and Catherine Walker, many of whom she met through Vogue’s fashion director Anna Harvey. Eleri says: ‘These designers remember sitting on the floor with her, looking through swatches and making amendments to the designs. On sketches she would write, “Yes, but with shorter sleeves” or, “Yes, but in a different colour”. She was very active in her own image-making.’
As early as her marriage, Diana was adding her own touches to outfits. She asked high-end dressmaker Bill Pashley to make two versions of the tweed suit she wore for her honeymoon and a photo shoot with a kilted Prince Charles at Balmoral (below). Not only was Diana’s twist on tweed far more fashionable than the usual styles but, Eleri says, ‘she asked for one jacket to be made tighter and the other one larger to give her more room to engage in country activities’.
However, Diana’s first experiment in designing an outfit with David Sassoon – a white gown with puffed sleeves, for her first state opening of parliament in 1981 – backfired. ‘She felt it wasn’t as successful as her other dresses, so she learned to trust her designers,’ Eleri explains. Diana also scoured her reviews in the press to see what worked and what didn’t. ‘She learned that frills and ruffles didn’t come out very well in photos, so with Catherine Walker her silhouette became simpler and sleeker.’
In fact, a 1987 knockout blue chiffon gown by Catherine Walker (opposite) revealed quite how far Diana had come
from that other notable dress in a similar shade, the modest Regamus design. In the strapless number, with a fitted bodice, flowing skirt and diaphanous stole around her neck, she looked breathtaking. Diana was a film fan who loved trips to the cinema and her outfit – worn at Cannes and two years later at the musical Miss Saigon – is thought to have been inspired by Grace Kelly’s dress in a scene from Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller To Catch a Thief.
Yet despite her maturing sense of style, Diana still clung to some of her earlier tastes. A glamorous white two-piece outfit designed by Bruce Oldfield in 1990 (opposite, top left) paired a frothy white lace top belted over a shimmering ivory skirt. Eleri points out, ‘That slightly romantic style of dressing is still there in the beautiful lace.’
Diana knew that every outfit she wore spoke volumes, adds Eleri: ‘Jasper Conran said that whenever she tried on clothes she would always say, “What message am I giving off if I wear this?”’ As her confidence increased, she cheerfully defied royal clothing traditions, showcasing her sense of fun by teaming one black glove and one red glove with a Murray Arbeid flamenco dress in 1986, and wearing a rope of fake pearls with an inky lace Victor Edelstein gown in 1987 (opposite, bottom left). She also gave tiaras a much-needed update by wearing them on her forehead.
For a woman who described herself as ‘thick’, there’s little doubt how intelligent Diana was about her public persona. ‘She was very talented at constructing these looks,’ says Eleri. ‘She knew what she liked and she had a great eye. She learned quickly, did it very well and became Diana, fashion icon.’
Diana: Her Fashion Story will open at Kensington Palace in London on 24 February. For further information and to book tickets, visit hrp.org.uk/diana or call 0844 482 7799. A new documentary, Diana’s Dresses – produced in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces and featuring interviews with designers including David Sassoon, Victor Edelstein and Elizabeth Emanuel – will be shown on BBC Two later this month
Diana knew that every outfit she wore spoke volumes