One ofPrincess Diana’s statement red carpet looks is going up for auction — and there’s a connection toQueen Camilla’scoronation outfit.
The dress is expected to fetch between $200,000 and $400,000 at auction, according toThe Daily Mail.
Princess Diana’s 1991 Hot Shots! premiere dress going up for auction.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Oldfield was behind several of Princess Diana’s ensembles in the 1980s and into the 1990s.
“I met the princess a few weeks after her wedding,” Oldfieldtold BritishVogue. “I think for all of us there was always this problem that there wasn’t a clear idea of how she should dress. She was aware that even in some far-flung part of the world she was representing Britain, and she couldn’t be a glamorous clotheshorse. I remember one occasion where I urged her to shorten her skirt. But she still resisted going too far. I said, ‘You should look at the miniskirts Princess Margaret wore in the ’60s.’ At the very beginning, she didn’t care about clothes, but gradually she grew to enjoy fashion. One thing I noticed was that she’d lock her knees backwards. She wore her skirts below the knee at that time and I’d look at pictures of her and think, ‘What the hell is she doing?’ Then I realized that she was pushing those knees backwards, I’d tell her not to and she’d say, ‘Stop nagging.’”
The royal became a regular client of the designer, sporting his clothes for everything from daytime royal engagements to evening galas.
Speaking to the impact of Princess Diana’s fashion choices, Oldfield said in a 2015 interview withThe Sunday Timesthat he was “shunned” when Diana stopped wearing his designs amid her split from then-Prince Charles.
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Oldfield later found another royal in Camilla, dressing her for special occasions such as the State Opening of Parliament in 2016 and the 2021 premiere of the James Bond filmNo Time to Die.
The royals at the premiere of ‘No Time to Die’.Karwai Tang/WireImage
Queen Camilla also turned to him to design her coronation dress for the May 6 crowning ceremony. The white gown was tailored with curved shape-lines swooping into a short train, designed to complement both of the robes she will wear during the service. The gown, which features ivory, silver and gold colors, also had an embroidered underskirt with bracelet-length sleeves and was cut with Peau de Soie, a silk fabric.
The embellishments includedabstract garlands of wildflowersrepresenting Queen Camilla and King Charles' love of nature and the British countryside. Daisy chains, forget-me-nots, celandine and scarlet pimpernel are all featured. Floral emblems of the four nations of the United Kingdom — a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock — are also featured on the underskirt and cuffs of the sleeves.
There were also some very personal touches to the dress: Camilla’s royal cypher, thenames of her children and grandchildrenandembroidered versions of Queen Camilla’s two dogs, Beth and Bluebell.
Queen Camilla’s coronation dress and robe are currentlyon display at Buckingham Palacethrough September.
“Throughout the 20thcentury, with the exception of Queen Elizabeth II, other Queen and Queen Consorts have included their cyphers on their coronation dresses, which you can see here — that’s quite a nice nod to an older tradition,” curator of the exhibition Sally Goodsir from theRoyal Collection Trustrecentlytold PEOPLE.
“The shape has quite a history when it comes to coronation dresses, in that Queen Victoria wore a similar shape dress but in a different color,” said Goodsir.
source: people.com
