Reflecting on Princess Diana’s “Revenge Dress”
In June 1994, Princess Diana made a public appearance in a dress that did not quite align with her role as a member of the British Royal Family — a black silk dress with an off-the-shoulder design, clinging to her body. Despite being shunned and avoided by Prince Charles since 1991, Princess Diana still radiated brightness, elegance, even when breaking the age-old rules of the royal family in a cheeky manner. This iconic dress, instantly dubbed the “revenge dress” by the media, was attributed to a poignant confession shared worldwide on that fateful evening.
The entire British populace witnessed two significant events on that fateful night — Princess Diana’s public appearance at a party hosted by Vanity Fair magazine and the airing of a documentary film about Prince Charles on national television.
The documentary film was crafted in an attempt to rehabilitate Prince Charles’s public image, seeking empathy after his admission of emotional involvement with Camilla Parker-Bowles, widely adored by the public as “the people’s princess.” Unfortunately, the expectations and intentions behind the film backfired when the interviewer asked Charles if he had been “faithful and honorable” to his wife during their marriage.
The information that Princess Diana never wanted to abandon her marriage to Prince Charles, even after Charles publicly admitted his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles, was widely shared. She did not want to divorce because she loved her children and did not want to subject them to what she had endured as a child when her parents divorced.
But Princess Diana had no other choice. Queen Elizabeth II, feeling disheartened, disappointed by her son’s infidelity and the ensuing scandal of the British Royal Family, became determined to put an end to all the gossip by demanding both to sign the divorce papers. Despite being hesitant and unwilling, Princess Diana eventually signed the divorce papers. This high-profile divorce took only 6 months to complete all formalities.
“We call it the ‘Revenge Dress’ [because] she wore it on the same evening that Prince Charles confessed to his affair with Camilla,” Kerry Taylor, a representative of the company that auctioned 10 dresses worn by Princess Diana, shared with Britain’s Woman Magazine. “While some would say, ‘I can’t face it tonight,’ Diana appeared before the public in that dress and looked stunningly radiant. She used it as a statement instead of speaking out about the matter right at the event.”
But the public may never know Princess Diana’s true intention when she wore that iconic black dress until fashion designer Christina Stambolian revealed that the “revenge dress” had actually been designed for Diana three years earlier. At the time the dress was completed, Princess Diana was too anxious and lacked confidence to wear it because she thought it was “too daring,” and the revenge dress had been shelved until Princess Diana wore it and caused a media storm.
In fact, Diana had planned to wear a high-end design by Valentino. Unfortunately, all of Princess Diana’s actions were scrutinized, and Valentino’s design was revealed to the press before the event, according to a report by the Telegraph. Unhappy with this turn of events, Princess Diana made a last-minute decision and chose Stambolian’s black dress that she had once considered “too daring.”
Anna Harvey, Princess Diana’s stylist, said she wanted to “look as rich and luxurious as possible” that night. If the dress was a small act of revenge by Diana, she wanted to make sure that the outfit and accessories she was wearing were worth millions and that everyone would be discussing it.
Everything happened according to her wishes, and that’s how Princess Diana made a historic fashion statement for the British Royal Family on that day.
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