After her wedding dress and the John Travolta dress, Diana's Elvis dress might be the third most well known of her outfits. Designed by Catherine Walker it is a remarkable example of craftsmanship and elegance, adding to the allure of an iconic princess.
The strapless sheath dress, in tinted white crepe silk, is embroidered with simulated pearls and white sequins. The jacket, with a stand up collar inspired by Elizabethan ruff, is edged in pearls. Designed for an official visit to Hong Kong in November 1989, the embroidery was by S. Lock Ltd. It was also worn for the British fashion awards in Albert Hall, London in 1989, in Budapest, and film premieres. Despite the original Elizabethan nod, it was nicknamed the 'Elvis dress.' It is estimated there are 20,000 hand embroidered pearls, and according to the designer, “What is not apparent from the pictures is the weight of the dress, which was immense“
Diana included the gown in her DRESSES from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales auction in June 1997. Prince William, who came up with the idea for the auction, thought the dress was ugly and reportedly said, "Mummy, it is too awful to sell." Thankfully Diana did not listen to him as the dress turned out to have the second highest bid. A Terrance Donovan photograph of Diana, wearing the gown and Lover's Knot tiara, is featured in the auction catalogue opposite a personal letter from Diana.
The dress was lot #78 at the auction. It sold for $151,000 to Lynda and Stewart Resnick, owners (at the time) of the Franklin Mint, as well as POM Wonderful and Fiji Water brands. According to court documents, when Lynda Resnick bought the dress at auction, ‘she did not intend to commercially exploit it.’
Nonetheless, the Resnick’s filed a trademark application on August 8, 1997 to produce “Diana - A forever Princess”, a 12-inch porcelain doll in a replica outfit. To ensure authenticity, Ms. Resnick had her staff count the beads so buyers would know the exact number on the original (22,000). The doll's dress was designed to scale with 2,000 hand-beaded fake pearls. The doll was an immediate hit and can still be found on eBay.
In September 1997, the Resnicks made further trademark applications to use various product titles, including ‘Diana, the People’s Princess,’ Diana, Queen of Hearts,’ Diana, Angel of Mercy' and more. The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fund, authorized by Diana's Estate as the only charity authorized to use Diana's name, likeness and marks, refused permission. Despite this, the Franklin Mint continued to use Diana's image, resulting in a trademark/right of publicity infringement lawsuit.
The case was settled out of court in 2004, but caused the Fund to freeze several grants. The Fund continued operations until 2013, when it was merged into The Royal Foundation. The irony of the situation is the Fund was hardly protective custodians of Diana’s image, squandering it by licensing several tacky items, including lottery scratch cards, scented candles, perfumes, memorial tartans and tubs of margarine.
Regardless of the controversy, it helped raise the profile of the dress and permanently ensure Diana’s connection to it. Unlike Diana's other gowns, which have come up for auction multiple times, the Elvis dress remained with the original owners. The Franklin Mint donated the dress to the Victoria and Albert museum in 2006, where it is currently in storage.
© Marilyn Braun 2020
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Sources
DRESSES from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales. Christie's auction catalogue
The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown
Catherine Walker: An Autobiography by The Private Couturier to Diana, Princess of Wales
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