The dress was created by David and Elizabeth Emanuel. It was made of black silk taffeta, with embroidered with black sequins. It was strapless, low cut with a tight corseted bodice and full gathered skirt. Diana would wear many of their outfits including the pink blouse she wore for her Vogue cover shoot and the Diaghliv dress. But no outfits were more significant than this and the wedding dress of the century.
However, it was not made for Diana. It wasn't new and it had already been lent to actress Liza Goddard. It was a sample Diana saw, hanging on a rail, when she visited their store looking for a 'grown up' dress to wear. She tried it on and loved it and the couple made a shawl of the same material so she could cover up on the night. Little did the Emmanuel's know what a furor the dress would cause, when Diana bent over to step out of the limousine. When Prince Charles exited the car first, he said to the waiting media, 'You want to see what's coming next'.
She wore the dress on March 9, 1981, at a music and verse recital at Goldsmiths' Hall; her first public event with Prince Charles, after the engagement announcement. At this event she met Princess Grace of Monaco, who was giving a poetry reading at the event. She commiserated with Diana over the media frenzy, joking that it would get a lot worse. Diana's first solo engagement as a member of the royal family would be Princess Grace's 1983 funeral.
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Although the press and public loved the dress and instantly raised Diana to fashion icon status, the royals were not as impressed. For the royals, black was worn at funerals, not for glamorous events. Forget that Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret had both worn similar black, strapless gowns in their day; albeit with less cleavage showing. The next day, photos of Diana made headlines, relegating UK Budget Day to the middle of the newspaper. The Iranian edition of Time also found the dress too revealing and had her bare shoulders blacked in.
After the event, Diana had lost so much weight in the lead up to the royal wedding, she returned the gown to have it taken in. Instead, the Emmanuel's kept the original and made Diana a new, smaller version. Which Diana wore a few years later, without the original's memorable effect.
It was auctioned on June 8, 2010 by Kerry Taylor auctions for $276,000. The winning bidder was Fundacion Museuo De La Moda in Chile. Their museum boasts the largest collection of Diana's auctioned dresses. The owner of the museum, Jorge Yarur announced, upon his death, this gown and all of the other Diana dresses he owns, will be donated to Kensington Palace.
© Marilyn Braun 2020
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Sources
Diana - The Fashion Princess by Davina Hanmer and Tim Graham
A Dress for Diana - David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel
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