Princess Diana’s Iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ Goes Up For Auction, Expected To Fetch $300,000
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Princess Diana’s iconic black silk evening dress, famously dubbed the “revenge dress” after she wore it to a London event in 1994, is set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s on December 9, with an estimated sale price of up to $300,000 (£220,000).
Designed by Greek designer Christina Stambolian, the strapless dress became one of the most recognisable fashion moments associated with Diana after she wore it to a fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery.
Her appearance came just hours after a television documentary in which her then-husband, Prince Charles, admitted to committing adultery during their marriage.
Sotheby’s said the dress is being offered at auction for the first time since 1997, when Diana sold 79 of her dresses to raise money for charities.
Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion, said Diana understood that fashion could serve as a form of expression.
“On her own terms, Princess Diana turned the dress into one of the most powerful messages she ever made,” Halimi said, adding that Diana used her choice of outfit to “reclaim the narrative for herself”.
Diana Made Last-Minute Wardrobe Change
According to Sotheby’s, Diana’s stylist at the time, Anna Harvey, said the princess “wanted to look a million dollars”.
Diana reportedly made a last-minute change to her outfit for the fundraising dinner, choosing the black strapless evening dress by Stambolian.
She paired the dress with a royal jewel, a black clutch and black pumps.
Her dramatic arrival at the Serpentine Gallery in the outfit quickly became an iconic pop-culture moment, with the media subsequently referring to it as the “revenge dress”.
Diana’s Fashion Pieces Fetch High Prices
The dress is expected to attract significant interest when it goes under the hammer in December.
Earlier this year, the vintage Jaguar XJ40 in which Diana arrived at the event was sold at auction for £66,250.
Other pieces from Diana’s wardrobe have also commanded high prices. In 2023, her famous sweater featuring a single black sheep among rows of white sheep sold for £920,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
The “revenge dress”, however, is expected to fetch considerably more than the car and could become another highly valuable piece of Diana’s fashion legacy.
