Highlights
- Diana’s iconic dress is returning to auction
- The dress could fetch up to £220,000
- It became famous after one pivotal night
Princess Diana’s most famous fashion moment is about to take on a new life. The black silk dress she wore to a 1994 party at London’s Serpentine Gallery is going up for auction, decades after it became one of the most recognisable outfits in royal history.
Often called the “revenge dress”, the Christina Stambolian creation could fetch up to £220,000 when it goes under the hammer at Sotheby’s on 9 December.
But why did this particular outfit become known as the “revenge dress”? The answer lies in what happened just hours before Diana arrived at the event and why her choice of outfit attracted so much attention.
The dress became part of one of the most closely watched moments of Diana’s life, turning a fashion choice into a powerful statement during a difficult period in her marriage.
The night that made the dress famous
Diana wore the strapless black dress to a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner just hours after a television documentary aired in which her then-husband, Charles, admitted to being unfaithful during their marriage.
Her arrival at the Serpentine Gallery immediately attracted attention. The dress, paired with black heels, a black clutch and a royal jewel, became a defining image of Diana’s public life.
The outfit had also been a last-minute choice. According to Sotheby’s, Diana’s stylist Anna Harvey said the princess wanted to “look a million dollars” that evening.
Why the dress became more than fashion
The dress has since become closely associated with Diana taking control of her own image at a deeply difficult point in her life.
Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion, Morgane Halimi, said Diana understood that fashion could be “a language in its own right”.
By choosing such a dramatic look for that particular night, Diana created an image that was impossible to ignore at a time when much of the public conversation around her marriage was being shaped by others.
Diana’s wardrobe continues to make headlines
This will be the first time the dress has been offered at auction since 1997, when Diana sold 79 of her dresses to raise money for charity.
Her wardrobe has continued to command huge prices since her death. In 2023, her famous black sheep sweater sold for £920,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York.
Even Diana’s connection to the 1994 event extends beyond the dress. The vintage Jaguar XJ40 she arrived in at the Serpentine Gallery was sold earlier this year for £66,250.
Now, the dress that became a symbol of one of the most talked-about moments of Diana’s life is heading back into the spotlight, with collectors set to decide just how much its history is worth.
