Lady Diana Spencer remembered as the people’s princess but also people’s fashion inspiration

Princess Diana 1997 (Alt Text: Princess Diana in a pink blazer with a large string of pearls around her neck)

Our final fashion icon in this series was a true national treasure, Lady Diana Spencer, the princess of Wales. Diana was known for having some iconic fashion looks such as her famous revenge dress and her bold wedding dress. Diana was also known for breaking royal protocol when it came to the way she dressed, such as not wearing gloves at formal events. It seems that Diana dressed for herself and that was an impactful message to women at the time. Unlike our previous fashion icon, Margaret Thatcher, Diana had multiple looks and her looks evolved from the 1980s. In the 80s she was known for wearing dainty and elegant garments, normally in pastel colours and was fulfilling this idea of ‘Shy Di’. Whereas in the 1990s we can see Diana wearing a lot more mature and fierce looks. Valerie Steele simply argues that Diana was ‘a global fashion icon’.

An aspect that I personally love about Diana's fashion is the symbolism seen in some of her garments. Her famous ‘Black Sheep’ sweater worn to a polo match in 1980 displays a red knitted jumper with a series of white sheep and one black sheep, but this round-neck drop-shoulder sweater was thought to convey how out of place she felt and that she felt like an outsider. It was designed by ‘Warm and Wonderful’ who said ‘We are trying hard to do other things but we can’t get away from the sheep sweater’. Diana wearing that sweater was a huge break through for the company who went on to do more products with that design showing Diana’s impact on fashion.

Family Photograph taken in late 1980s (Alt Text: Woman in a wedding dress outside standing next to an older lady in black with bridesmaid standing behind them)

One of Diana’s most famous garments that she was seen in was her iconic wedding dress, which she wore when she got married to King Charles III (then Prince Charles) in 1981. This wedding was watched by hundreds of millions all over the world, therefore Diana’s extravagant dress was seen by many. Davina Hanmer argues that ‘The wedding dress was all that everyone had hoped it to be, a blend of the theatrical and the romantic, a theme that echoed the mood of that fairy-tale day.’. The dress was designed by Elizabeth and David Emanuel; ‘It featured woven silk taffeta…and a twenty-five foot train…’, it also had delicate embroidery all over the garment with thousands of sequins and pearls. As a modern viewer of this dress who sadly did not experience seeing this wedding dress at the time it was worn, the first thing that comes to mind when I see this dress is…CAMP! This dress just emulates what the 1980s was about and it is totally camp, and I personally love it, like the majority of the world. The extended train that is as long as the M25 with the exaggerated shoulder and a hoop skirt, just screams camp. This dress definitely impacted British fashion and world fashion. This dress has been replicated countless times, showing Diana’s impact on fashion, here a family photograph from a wedding in the late 1980s we can clearly identify aspects of the dress which might have been inspired by Diana’s dress such as the lace and the large, puffed shoulders. It is clear that this dress had a huge impact on British fashion as ‘Hours after the wedding took place replicas surfaced with manufacturers rushing to recreate the iconic wedding dress for as low as $467’ and ‘Sewing pattern brands like McCalls and Burda also quickly issued replica patterns.’. It shows that there was a huge demand to get the Diana look and this is because Diana stood out on her wedding day and really looked like a princess and people wanted to emulate that feeling of being the people's princess.

Family photograph 1995 (Alt Text: A woman smoking a cigarette in a black dress seated at a table with alcohol bottles)

Another iconic look of Diana’s, which many think of instantly, is her ‘Revenge Dress’. This dress was worn in June 1994, after Charles publicly admitted to adultery with Camila Parker-Bowles. This was a very distressing time for Diana as the whole world knew about their marital affairs and knew all eyes would be on her, so she took that to her advantage. She is seen wearing an off the shoulder, asymmetrical evening dress in black silk with a chiffon train designed by Christina Stambolian. Anna Harvey, Diana’s former stylist said ‘She wanted to look a million dollars…and she did’. I would argue that this iconic dress popularised ‘the little black dress’ as a garment not for seducing men but for female empowerment, showing Diana’s impact on fashion. The ‘revenge dress’ on Diana is an iconic fashion moment and she looks fierce. Tina Brown said that after Diana wore the dress, editors would call the garment ‘her fuck-you dress’ which I think is a very fitting name. This dress, similarly, to her wedding dress, was recreated many times, showing Diana’s lasting impact. We can see the photograph, taken in 1995, that there was attempts to recreate this iconic dress, though it is hard to see with the amount of alcohol on the table but the lady in the image is wearing a black dress with a sweetheart neckline and a pearl necklace.

Overall, it is clear that there is no dispute in Princess Diana being dubbed as a fashion icon. Diana looked radiant in whatever she wore and experimented with various looks. My favourite has to be the ‘Revenge Dress’ as that is the most iconic and memorable for me. The garment is chic and timeless, something so simple as a black dress had a massive impact on the world of fashion. Diana’s looks have gone on to be sold for thousands but also to be on display at museums emphasising the impact she has had.