Who Designed Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress? The LBD That Broke The Internet 27 Years After Its Debut
After The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki was spotted in a replica dress while filming the iconic fashion moment, fans of the series took to the Internet, highlighting the uncanny resemblance between the actress and the late Princess Diana. Here, Bazaar shares the untold story behind the dress…
By now, we’ve all seen the two photos side by side: one of a real-life princess and the other of the actress, in full character, reenacting one of the most famous moments in modern-day fashion history for The Crown’s fifth season. while the internet can’t stop buzzing about the similarities between the two photos, there are still a bunch of questions that remain unanswered… namely about the dress itself and the story behind it. When exactly did Princess Diana wear the revenge dress? Who designed it? And why is it dubbed the “revenge” dress?
While there was no internet to break back in the early 90’s, when Princess Diana began having her own moment in the spotlight sans her soon-to-be ex-husband, The Prince of Wales (although, really, it always had been firmly fixed on her), the revenge dress left the world speculating about what was going on in the mind of the princess. (A true PR mastermind or, simply, a woman scorned, ready to take back control of her life?)
While we don’t know, there’s plenty to be said about the story behind the frock, its origins and why it was a somewhat unconventional choice for a royal. Here, Bazaar shares everything you need to know about Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress.
When Did Princess Diana Wear The Revenge Dress?
The black silk crepe dress was worn by Princess Diana (who was 33 at the time) when she attended a dinner, hosted by Vanity Fair in 1994 at The Serpentine Gallery in London. While she had always been known for her elegant sense of dressing and poised demeanor in public, this particular look shocked royal watchers and fans alike.
Who Designed Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress?
Greek-born designer, Christina Stambolian, is the creative force who designed Princess Diana’s revenge dress – which is so famous it has its own Wikipedia page.
Why is it called the Revenge Dress?
According to Christies.com, the dress caused quite a bit of a stir for a variety of reasons – and not just because Princess Diana’s in the midst of the breakup of her marriage (at this point her and the Prince of Wales had been separated for two years.)
The night she stepped out in the black dress to attend the Vanity Fair party was the same night a programme about The Prince of Wales aired, where he admitted to being unfaithful after their marriage has “irretrievably broken down.”
According to some sources, the Princess wasn’t planning on attending the event before she made the decision to RSVP just two days before the party
How Can I Shop Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress?
While the dress isn’t up for sale, it was auctioned off in 1997 by Christie’s for $74,000 (approximately 271,794.60Dhs).
Lead image courtesy of Shutterstock (Alan Davidson)
