Dress tribute to Diana 20 years on

ROYAL STYLE: A dinner dress by Catherine Walker, centre, and two other outfits from Princess Diana’s collection SOME of the most memorable outfits of Diana, Princess of Wales, will go on show at her former home in Kensington Palace in February to begin a year of commemorations of the 20th anniversary of her death.

Dresses and blouses that are owned by museums and private collectors all over the world are being lent to the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition, which has the blessing of the palace’s occupants, her sons, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

One of the star exhibits among the 26 on display will be an inkblue velvet gown worn when she danced with John Travolta at a White House gala dinner in 1985.

The Victor Edelstein dress, which Diana also wore for her last official portrait before her death in 1997, was one of 10 dresses auctioned for charity in New York two months before she died.

Bought for £100 000 by an American businesswoman, it fetched £240 000 when it was sold to a British collector in 2013.

Other favourites include the pale-pink Emanuel blouse worn by Diana for her engagement portrait by Lord Snowdon in 1981, and several Catherine Walker suits that made up her “working wardrobe” in the 1990s.

The exhibition aims to show the evolution of the princess’s style and will explore her relationship with her favourite designers through some of their original sketches, created for her during the design process.

Eleri Lynn, the curator of the exhibition, said: “Diana . . . was one of the most photographed women in the world and every fashion choice she made was closely scrutinised.

“Our exhibition explores the story of a young woman who had to quickly learn the rules of royal and diplomatic dressing, who in the process put the spotlight on the British fashion industry and designers. We see her growing in confidence throughout her life, increasingly taking control of how she was represented, and intelligently communicating through her clothes.” — © The Daily Telegraph, London

Picture: CORBIS STAYING ALIVE: Princess Diana dancing with actor John Travolta at the White House in 1985. The dress, designed by Victor Edelstein, which she wore to the state dinner, was sold at a charity auction before her death and will be on show at her former...