Princess Diana’s Iconic Revenge Dress Is Headed Back to Auction

Princess Diana’s iconic black revenge dress is headed to Sotheby’s this winter, where it is expected to fetch up to $300,000. The Christina Stambolian designed silk evening dress, which the late royal wore at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994, instantly became one of the most talked-about moments in fashion as the then-Princess of Wales stepped out of the car and into a storm of cameras on the same night that her estranged husband, Prince Charles, admitted that he was unfaithful during their marriage in a televised interview.

While the couple had been separated for some time, it was the first time the then-Prince of Wales acknowledged any wrongdoing in the relationship publicly. According to Sotheby’s, rather than cancel her appearance, Diana opted for a wardrobe change, setting aside a planned Valentino gown in favor of the black silk off-the-shoulder, tight number. Her stylist at the time, Anna Harvey, said Diana “wanted to look a million dollars.”

“Fashion can be a language when words fail or are simply not enough,” says Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion. “Princess Diana understood that instinctively. What makes this dress extraordinary is not merely that it was worn by the princess, nor that its appearance at the Serpentine event made headlines around the world. It is what it communicated. On her own terms, Princess Diana turned the dress into one of the most powerful messages she ever made during one of the most scrutinized and emotionally charged episodes of her life.”

The dress, which the princess had paired with black heels, a choker created from an antique diamond and sapphire brooch given to her by the Queen Mother as a wedding gift, and a clutch bag, was first offered at auction in June 1997 when Diana sold 79 of her dresses to raise funds to benefit cancer and AIDS charities, according to Sotheby’s. This time, the proceeds of the sale will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

But before the gavel falls in New York, the dress will be exhibited at Sotheby’s London during the city’s Fashion Week from September 18-24, before it travels to Hong Kong and Geneva, with a final public viewing at the Breuer Building scheduled for December 2. The original buyer, who purchased the dress with her late husband, called winning it “one of the great days of our life together.” The dress has not been seen publicly since the sale 30 years ago.

“What became a global viral moment—long before social media made the term mundane—also gave license to anyone, but especially women, to use fashion beyond adornment and much more intentionally and meaningfully: as a shield, a weapon, or both,” said Halimi. “What has endured across the decades is not the scandal surrounding that evening, but Princess Diana’s show of confidence and self-possession. 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.”