TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Princess Diana’s famous black silk evening gown, widely known as the "revenge dress," will be offered at auction for the first time in nearly three decades at Sotheby’s in New York on December 9. As reported by Anadolu Agency, the Christina Stambolian creation is expected to fetch between US$150,000 and US$300,000.
The late Princess of Wales wore the off-the-shoulder cocktail dress to a Vanity Fair fundraising event at London’s Serpentine Gallery on June 29, 1994. Her arrival coincided with the broadcast of a nationally televised interview in which her estranged husband, then-Prince Charles (now King Charles III), admitted to being unfaithful during their marriage following years of media speculation.
Diana had originally planned to wear a more conservative Valentino gown but made a last-minute wardrobe change, opting for the Stambolian dress she had purchased three years earlier but previously deemed too daring for official royal engagements.
Her stylist at the time, Anna Harvey, noted that the princess "wanted to look a million dollars." Meanwhile, former butler Paul Burrell recalled advising her to choose an outfit that would command attention, as documented in Georgina Howell’s 1998 biography Diana, Her Life in Fashion.
The dress featured a fitted bodice, an asymmetrical hemline, and a flowing chiffon train. She paired it with black Manolo Blahnik heels, a Salvatore Ferragamo clutch, and a pearl choker centered around a sapphire-and-diamond brooch given to her by the Queen Mother. Members of the royal family are traditionally encouraged to avoid wearing black outfits unless attending a funeral or in mourning. Thus, the appearance instantly became a defining pop-culture moment.
"On her own terms, Princess Diana turned the dress into one of the most powerful messages she ever made," said Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, in statements cited by Anadolu. "She walked into a moment in which so much of her story was being told for her and, through what she chose to wear, reclaimed the narrative for herself."
From Charity Auction to Private Collection
The dress was first sold during a charity auction in New York in June 1997, shortly before Diana’s death that August. The sale featured 79 of her personal outfits, an initiative suggested by her eldest son, Prince William. Scottish couple Briege and Graeme Mackenzie acquired the piece for £39,098 (around US$64,000) to support Children First, a Scottish children's charity.
Following her husband’s passing, Briege Mackenzie decided to put the gown up for sale. "My late husband and I knew that this dress was something special," Mackenzie said in a statement released by Sotheby’s. "Princess Diana was walking into the worst night of her life and you would never know it to look at her. It went from a cocktail dress to a statement in the time it took to photograph her."
The upcoming auction will include a rare copy of the 1997 auction catalog, signed by both Diana and Stambolian. A portion of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
Prior to the auction during Sotheby's Luxury Week in New York, the dress will embark on a global exhibition tour, making stops at Sotheby’s London showroom during London Fashion Week from September 18 to 24, followed by viewings in Hong Kong, Geneva, and finally arriving at Sotheby’s Breuer Building in New York on December 2.
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