It’s news that’s almost shocking. We’ve all seen, at least once in our lives, the images of Princess Diana at the Serpentine Gallery on June 29, 1994, when she made one of her most famous public appearances, turning fashion into a statement. Her appearance coincided with a television interview in which Prince Charles publicly acknowledged his infidelity, admitting to his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
She was wearing a black silk dress by Christina Stambolian, with a sweetheart neckline and an asymmetrical hem—shorter in the front and longer on the sides—that went down in history precisely because it’s considered the first true “revenge dress” ever. It’s well known that Diana was and continues to be a style icon, but that dress went beyond fashion to become a concept—a statement that, even years later, continues to be remembered.
That’s why the news that the famous dress will return to auction after thirty years holds special significance. The dress will go under the hammer on December 9 in New York, during Sotheby’s Luxury Week, with an estimate ranging from $150,000 to $300,000. Before the sale, it will be exhibited in several cities, starting in London on September 18, then making stops in Hong Kong and Geneva, before arriving in New York.
The princess had personally sold the dress in June 1997, a few months before her death. It was one of 79 dresses that Diana had chosen to auction off to raise funds for organizations fighting cancer and AIDS.
The lot will also include a rare copy of the original catalog, numbered and signed by the princess and Stambolian, in which the idea for the sale is attributed to the young Prince William. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the charity NHS Lothian on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
[📸 Snapix]
