On June 29, 1994, Princess Diana arrived at a Vanity Fair party at London’s Serpentine Gallery wearing a black Christina Stambolian dress.
According to her stylist at the time, Anna Harvey, who had helped her prepare for the event, Diana simply “wanted to look a million dollars.” That same evening, a televised interview aired in which the then Prince Charles publicly acknowledged his infidelity during their marriage. Diana, meanwhile, stepped out in a dress that would go on to become one of the most discussed fashion moments of the 20th century. The ‘revenge dress’ was born.
Even after three decades, its image remains instantly recognizable: Diana stepping out in an off-the-shoulder LBD, her legs bare, unruffled by the storm surrounding her. At the time, it was anything but conventional for a member of the royal family. The dress was daring and deliberately removed from the demure image the princess had once been expected to maintain. It signaled that she was no longer willing to be defined by the rigid constraints of royal convention – and that, sartorially at least, she was ready to write the rules herself.
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Diana never wore the dress again, but in June 1997, she put it up for auction alongside 78 other pieces from her wardrobe. The sale raised money for charities close to her heart, like those supporting people affected by cancer and AIDS. It was acquired by its current owners and now, nearly 30 years later, it’s returning to auction.
Estimated to sell for $150,000 – $300,000, the iconic garment will be sold this December during Sotheby’s Luxury Week in New York. Accompanying it will be a rare copy of the original auction catalog, numbered and signed by Diana and Stambolian, with a credit to Prince William for suggesting the charity sale. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
“My late husband and I knew that this dress was something special,” says the dress’s current consigner. “Princess Diana was walking into the worst night of her life and you would never know it to look at her.”
“It went from a cocktail dress to a statement in the time it took to photograph her. 30years on, you can say the words anywhere in the world and everyone knows exactly which dress you mean. Bidding at auction and winning it was one of the great days of our life together. With him gone, that chapter has closed, and so should this one. I hope it goes to someone who will enjoy owning it as much as we did,” she adds.
Speaking about the auction, Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, says: “What makes this dress extraordinary is not merely that it was worn by the princess, nor that its appearance at the Serpentine event made headlines around the world. It is what it communicated. On her own terms, Princess Diana turned the dress into one of the most powerful messages she ever made, during one of the most scrutinised and emotionally charged episodes of her life.”
Before it finds its next owner, the ‘revenge dress’ will have a rather busy few months of its own. It will make its first public appearance at Sotheby’s London from September 18 to 24, coinciding with London Fashion Week, before traveling to Hong Kong and Geneva. It will then arrive in New York, where it will go on final public display at Sotheby’s Breuer Building from December 2 ahead of the live auction on December 9.
