Whatever happened to Princess Diana's Diagheliv inspired dress?

Embed from Getty Images

Searching for David and Elizabeth Emanuel, you will find most media coverage includes Diana, Princess of Wales. Attempt to find information about the Emanuel's Diaghilev collection, and it will only find a cursory mention in relation to this dress.  That's both a curse and a blessing. You will always have a place in the history books but searches will revolve around Diana and not what you have done before or since. It is understandable. Let's face it, they designed some of the most significant items Diana has ever worn, including the white chiffon blouse she wore for a Vogue photoshoot and the famous strapless black dress for her first engagement. Oh, and also the wedding dress of the century!

Embed from Getty Images

Although striking, this dress is not nearly as iconic. It has a unique, costume-like quality, which is appropriate as it was inspired by Leon Bakst's designs for Diaghilev ballet Russes. It was one of twelve dresses from the Emmanuel's Diaghilev collection. Diana first saw it at a Red Cross benefit fashion show in the summer of 1986. Many designers have commented that Diana had the perfect figure. So perfect that Diana chose the size 10 dress from the mannequin instead of ordering her own version. It came with a matching padded headband with gold ribbon and pearls, lozenge shaped sleeve panels and petticoat. Diana wore the dress with and without these accessories and wore a tiara instead of the headband on occasion. She wore it in public about three times: for a performance of Ivan the Terrible at the Royal Opera House, a James Bond premiere and a banquet at the German Embassy in London.

Embed from Getty Images

It was lot #26 at the Christie's 1997 auction, purchased for $25,300 by Fontaine Minor, a socialite from Richmond, Virginia.  She was interviewed for the documentary Diana's Dresses. Clearly proud and protective of it, the dress is propped up in a chair behind her. Beside the dress is an expressionless security guard, no doubt reconsidering his life choices.

Like most of Diana's dresses, it has not been kept in a closet. It has appeared at many charity events, to raise money for Richmond- area organizations such as the Richmond Ballet and Symphony Orchestra, a mother/daughter tea at Jefferson's Hotel Grand Ballroom, modelled by Ms. Minor's daughter and granddaughters, and put on exhibit at Kensington Palace. It was auctioned in December 2013 for $167,433, with proceeds split between charities favoured by Diana and Ms. Minor and her family.

The buyer is listed as an unidentified 'overseas museum'. As this could mean anywhere from Antarctica to Tuvalu, the search continues. It has been 7 years since the auction so I'm hoping they will reveal their name and put the dress on display for people to enjoy for many years to come.

Update: In 2017 it was included in a Remembering Diana exhibit at the Museo de la Moda in Chile.

Embed from Getty Images

© Marilyn Braun 2020

Thank you for enjoying this article. If you use the information for research purposes, a link to credit the work I've put into writing it would be appreciated.


Sources

Richmonder putting Di's dress up for auction in England
Diana's dress sells for £120K
The "Gold Diagheliv" Gown is auctioned in London
Auction brings seven-fold bounty for Diana dress
A Princess Tea Party
Princess Diana's favourite fairytale dress could be yours...for a price
Going, Going, Gone! Di's Defrocked
The Creation of a Designer House
Diana's Dresses - Documentary
New owners of Diana's dresses come to Christie's to collect their gowns
Being There: An Affair to Remember
The Frocks that Became a Princess