From BBC News · · 1m 30s
Diana's revenge dress is back on the block
The black silk dress Diana wore hours after Charles admitted adultery could fetch £220,000 in December.
In brief
The black silk dress Diana wore hours after Charles admitted adultery could fetch £220,000 in December. Diana used one wardrobe change to answer a televised confession, and the world still reads the message thirty years later. Originally reported by BBC News.
The dress returns
Sotheby's will auction Princess Diana's strapless black silk evening dress on 9 December, with an estimate of up to £220,000, or $300,000.
Hours after the confession
A documentary aired that same evening in which Prince Charles admitted he had been unfaithful. Diana's arrival at the Serpentine Gallery was read as her reply.
A last-minute change
She set aside a quieter Valentino gown for Christina Stambolian's off-the-shoulder design with an asymmetric hem and chiffon train, worn with a royal necklace and black heels.
“wanted to look a million dollars”
Clothes as an answer
Sotheby's fashion head Morgane Halimi says Diana knew fashion was a language, and used it during one of the most scrutinised weeks of her life.
“She walked into a moment in which so much of her story was being told for her and, through what she chose to wear, reclaimed the narrative for herself.”
Sold once before, for charity
Diana sold 79 dresses in 1997, months before she died, to raise money for cancer and Aids charities. Glasgow couple Briege and Graeme Mackenzie paid £39,098 for this one.
Why she is selling now
Briege Mackenzie decided to part with it after her husband's death. Bidding on it together had been one of the great days of their life.
“It went from a cocktail dress to a statement in the time it took to photograph her.”
What Diana's wardrobe fetches
The Jaguar XJ40 she arrived in sold for £66,250 this year. Her black sheep sweater went for £920,000 in 2023, so the estimate may prove modest.
The essence
Diana used one wardrobe change to answer a televised confession, and the world still reads the message thirty years later.
