Whatever happened to Princess Diana's Dramatic Black Velvet Evening Gown by Bruce Oldfield?

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Picture it. Diana, in all her 'Dynasty Di' glory, circa 1985. Alighting from her car, she is wearing a gloriously luxe black velvet gown by one of her favourite designers, Bruce Oldfield.

This dress has always been a favourite of mine. When I saw the dress for the first time at an exhibit in 1998, I wasn't sure it was the right one. Sure, it was black velvet, designed by Bruce Oldfield, but looking behind the dress, it had a black velvet rose with sparkling beads at the neckline. This detail is not apparent in photographs of Diana wearing it. But sure enough, it was there. According to the designer, the detail was added to prevent the dress from falling off Diana's shoulders.


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It was ordered by Diana after her friend, fashion editor, Anna Harvey, wore a similar design. It has a deep v-neck in front and back, draped waist and lightly gathered skirt. It was worn in 1985 at The Barbican for the first night gala performance of Les Miserables.  Diana also wore it in an official portrait by Lord Snowdon.

The dress was Lot #37 at the Christie's auction and purchased by Barbara Jordan, a Boston boutique owner. Ms. Jordan bought three dresses, paying $36,800 for the velvet Oldfield.  She bought it to publicize her boutique by displaying the dresses in the window and after Diana's death, it became somewhat of a shrine. A noted philanthropist, Ms. Jordan donated the dress to a Boston AIDS charity. It was auctioned by Skinner Gallery in October 1997 and purchased by Maureen Rorech for $200,000.

This dress travelled the world in the Dresses for Humanity tour and was eventually auctioned in 2013. Historic Royal Palaces confirmed it had purchased the gown for $68,000.

© Marilyn Braun 2020

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Sources

Bruce Oldfield Black Velvet Gown
Princess Diana's iconic dresses to go on display at Kensington Palace
DRESSES from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales auction catalogue
Dresses for Humanity exhibition catalogue
My Decade with Diana by Maureen Rorech Dunkel