Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Dresses tell tale: Princess Diana’s life in fashion
LONDON — The dresses tell the story of a life cut short: first, the frilly debutante frocks Princess Diana wore before she married Prince Charles, then the elaborate gowns that stunned the world, and finally the power suits she favored shortly before her death.
It’s been 20 years since Diana died in a Paris car crash at age 36, but the public’s fascination with her life — and her clothes — lives on. A new exhibition called “Diana: Her Fashion Story” is on display through 2017 at Kensington Palace, her home for many years.
One room features designers’ sketches for Diana dresses, offering insight into the vision behind many of her choices.
Deirdre Murphy, senior curator at the Historic Royal Palaces, said Diana was unique in the way she used clothes to communicate and also a risk taker willing to challenge the unwritten conventions of royal dress. She said Diana captured the “mystique” of being a princess, even as she occasionally dressed in jeans and a baseball hat.
The display opens with a lacy party dress Diana wore to a ball at her family home, Althorp, in 1979 and includes many famous outfits, like the midnight blue silk velvet evening dress she wore while tearing up the dance floor with John Travolta at a White House state dinner in 1985.
A favorite designer was Catherine Walker, who created a strapless white silk crepe dress and jacket, all embroidered with sequins and pearls, for an official visit to Hong Kong in 1989. Its sparkly look and high collar reminded fashion writers of the jumpsuits favored by Elvis Presley late in his career.
Diana turned to Walker again in the years just before her death to help her refine a “working princess” style in line with her plan to devote more time to charitable activities.