Princess Diana’s revenge dress: why it is still relevant to fashion history

Serving looks and saving lives, fashion is more than just the garments we wear - it’s also political.

Fashion is often snubbed as ‘unimportant’ or ‘superficial’ to self-righteous folk, but the way that we present and dress ourselves is critical to the narrative we display of ourselves to the world. I mean, Miranda Priestly explained fashion’s impact better than I ever will so cast your mind to that monologue to emphasise my point… Thirty years ago, the best example of how fashion can be used to reclaim a narrative was when Princess Diana stepped out at the Vanity Fair fundraiser back in 1994.

The 90s was undoubtedly the most pivotal era for Princess Diana, both in terms of her private life and in the fashion sphere. Aside from the revenge dress, Diana sported iconic ensembles such as her denim boiler suit paired with moon boots and leather jacket; brought back the dropped waist in a new spin with long blazers and embraced menswear throughout the third feminist wave.

So why is it called the revenge dress?

Earlier that same day, a tell-all documentary orchestrated by the then Prince of Wales premiered on national television in an attempt to repair his reputation following his separation from Diana three years prior. During this documentary, Charles indirectly confessed to his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles after being asked if he had been “faithful and honourable” throughout his marriage to Diana, to which he replied: “Yes, until it became irretrievably broken down, us both having tried.”

The ITV documentary Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role was screened on June 29, 1994, after 18 months in the works. That evening, Charles’ confession was watched by over 13 million people. Despite the large viewership the programme received, there will be very few people who will even remember that it happened or what was said - but, you will find it difficult to come across someone who doesn’t know about the Revenge Dress. 

“The princess learned to make her wardrobe say what she could not,” Sophie Goodwin (Tatler magazine’s fashion director) told The New York Times in an interview

The Princess of Wales reclaimed her narrative that day and stylishly stole headlines as she broke royal protocol.

Diana bought the Christina Stambolian dress three years before the Vanity Fair fundraiser at Kensington Gardens but believed it to be ‘too daring’ for a royal to wear. The off-the-shoulder, hand-stitched chiffon skirt with its mini train and above-the-knee ensemble stunned the public and the media when she eventually allowed the beautiful garment to leave her wardrobe. The protocol-breaking dress caught media attention as papers the morning papers were no longer fixated on how she had been disrespected by her unfaithful prince, but instead asserted herself as independent and thrilling in her own regard. Before Diana’s entrance to the Serpentine Gallery that day, there had been leaks that the Princess was going to be wearing a Valentino dress, adding to the media attention when she stepped out wearing a garment from the independent female-owned business instead.

In a 1997 article for Vogue, Anna Wintour (a close friend at the time of the Princess) expressed that Diana had become tired of designers using her name for press coverage, so when Valentino leaked that it would be one of their dresses arriving at Kensington Gardens it’s rumoured that the princess retaliated with a later renowned outfit change.

And the revenge doesn’t stop at the dress…

The entire look is meticulously chosen to display a message following Charles’ ITV confession. Each accessory worn by the Princess on that Wednesday has some association with the royals. Diana was still wearing her engagement ring, despite being three years separated from the Prince of Wales - and his adultery now being public knowledge. Not only this but her statement pearl and sapphire choker was once a brooch given to her as a wedding gift from the Queen Mother. Her iconic Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings had been gifted to her during her engagement, which had become a wardrobe staple to her by this point (and were later worn by Kate Middleton for her birthday photographs in 2022). Her clutch bag, created by one of her ‘go to’ designers, Salvatore Ferragamo, is still available to buy 30 years later - officially titled now as the ‘Diana mini-clutch’ in-store.

The dress wasn’t just monumental for its revenge purposes…

A year after Diana set history with her LBD, the dress sold (alongside other garments) for $3.25 million which was donated to cancer and AIDS charities. Her dress specifically was sold for $60,000 (roughly $116,045 in 2024) to a couple who further used the dress for charitable purposes. 

So the next time you think about belittling the impact of fashion, remember the time that a Little Black Dress raised $3.25 million for charity and reinstated the rules of feminism.