Zandra Rhodes designed 10 dresses for Diana, this pretty dress was included in the Christie's dress auction in 1997. Lot 47 is described in the auction catalogue as A Mid-Length Dinner Dress in Pink Silk Chiffon.
The fabric printed in white on pink silk, with a design of pearl necklaces and lace. The gathered neckline has a pointed collar, edged with simulated pearls, glass beads and paste with pink satin cording. The skirt, pleated to below the hip has a pointed hem, echoing the pattern on the collar, edged with pearls and glass beads and trimmed with paste in lozenges and circles.
The Princess wore this dress to a State Banquet in Kyoto during her official visit to Japan in 1986, where she is photographed eating with upside down chopsticks. She wore it about three or four times: July 1985 at a Torvill and Dean party, Charleston Manor, Seaford Britain in aid of the London City Ballet and the Purcell school in July 1987.
At the original Christie's auction, it was sold to Melissa Scripps for $27,600. It was displayed as part of Suzanne King's Pink Ribbons Charity Exhibits, Dresses for a Cause at the Appleton Museum of Art in 2007, and as part of Kensington Palace's exhibit, Diana, Fashions and Style in 2008. The dress apparently passed through a few hands before it was subsequently auctioned in 2011 through Kerry Taylor Auction house for $35,000. The new owners are Historic Royal Palaces where it is now part of their Ceremonial Dress Collection.
© Marilyn Braun 2020
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