Princess Diana’s striking black strapless dress, designed by Christina Stambolian, will be auctioned after years of storied history. Diana wore this dress during a November 1994 party at the Serpentine Gallery in London, just hours after her then-husband, Prince Charles, publicly admitted to infidelity.
This appearance in the elegant black silk number garnered significant media attention. Diana had originally planned to wear a Valentino gown but made a last-minute decision to switch outfits.
Sotheby’s notes that Diana “instinctively understood” fashion as a means of self-expression. Morgan Halimi, the auction house’s global head of bags and fashion, remarked that the princess used her attire to “regain control over her own narrative.”
The dress was first auctioned in 1997, alongside numerous other items sold by Diana herself to raise funds for charitable organizations. It was purchased by Briege McKenzie and her husband Graham for £39,098 ($52,800). McKenzie later expressed that they recognized the dress’s special significance and opted to sell it following her husband’s passing.
Before the auction, the dress will be displayed in London, Hong Kong, Geneva, and New York. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Royal Edinburgh Hospital through the NHS Lothian Charity.
In 2023, another of Diana’s garments, a sweater featuring a black sheep among white ones, fetched £920,000 ($1.24 million) at Sotheby’s in New York.
Background Context
- Diana Spencer married Prince Charles on July 29, 1981, and they had two sons, William in 1982 and Harry in 1984. The couple announced their separation in 1992 and finalized their divorce in 1996.
- Charles’s relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles was among the factors contributing to the marriage’s difficulties. They met in 1970 but separated, and Camilla married Andrew Parker Bowles in 1973. Charles and Camilla later rekindled their romance and married in 2005.
- Diana tragically died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. In 2023, Charles ascended to the British throne as King Charles III, with Camilla as Queen.
