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In 1996, the Met Gala wasn’t a show yet, but Diana was already the biggest celebrity in the world, wearing a Galliano slip dress. There have been more royals at this party over the years.
Diana only attended one Met Gala, but it was enough to remain in the event’s records. It happened in 1996 and at that time the party was not yet the celebrity event it is today. The Princess of Wales wore a dress that went down in fashion history and her favorite choker. The choice of this style icon was very different from anything we had seen her wear and marked the beginning of a new stage in her life.
The dark blue silk dress with fine black lace surrounding the neckline and crossing the shoulders with straps, was long and almost straight cut, highlighting the tall figure of the Princess of Wales. The dress was John Galliano’s first creation for the Christian Dior house. The young British designer had recently been hired to take the reins of the French house. After spending a year at the helm of Givenchy, Galliano headed to Dior so that his irreverent style could breathe new life into the traditional Haute Couture house. The move was a bold idea by Bernard Arnault, head of the LVMH luxury group to which the two fashion brands still belong.
Galliano was then a young talent who would consolidate himself at Dior where for almost 15 years he pushed his creativity to the limit, although he later left the scene with a scandal that forced him to undergo rehabilitation followed by a slow and discreet return to fashion. Diana was the most photographed woman in the world and a fashion icon, so this dress was destined to go down in fashion history.
Diana, the former Princess of Wales, was not the only royal figure to attend the famous Met Gala. In the gallery that heads the article we bring together the princesses, and even a queen.who have been present at this party over the years.
Diana with the dress created by John Galliano for Dior and the choker that was made with the sapphire gifted by the Queen Mother
The Princess of Wales didn’t wear a Dior creation by chance. The gala took place on December 9, 1996 and the fashion exhibition that opened the party was dedicated to Christian Dior, as the brand was celebrating its 50th anniversary that year. Diana also wore a dark blue Lady Dior handbag, named after her precisely. The model from that night was reissued in a limited edition in 2022.
The press covering the event called Diana’s choice of dress “bold” and “risky,” or “risky,” as the Telegraph newspaper describes it. Diana was at that time a recently divorced woman, although she and Prince Charles had been separated since 1992, the divorce only becoming official in August 1996. The dress is what is called a “slip dress”, a style that is inspired in underwear and nightwear and usually includes a good dose of sensuality. Perhaps that year it was not yet a trend, but it would later enter the fashion vocabulary and many collections and wardrobes. The look also included a long cape-style coat, also in dark blue silk. The press also reports that Diana was worried about what her eldest son, Prince William, then 14, would think about her choice of dress and was afraid of embarrassing him. But it is worth remembering that two years earlier, in 1994, Diana had already gone around the world in photographs wearing her “revenge dress.”
Galliano said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal magazine in 2018 that he initially made Diana’s dress with an inner bodice to “protect her royal modesty,” the Telegraph quotes. However, the Princess of Wales rejected the bra and opted to show off her cleavage. “It was a reflection of how she already felt: liberated,” said the British designer.
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Diana, a master of fashion, combined her daring dress with traditional jewelry. The Princess of Wales wore the pearl and sapphire choker that she loved so much, as evidenced by the many times we have seen her wear it over the years. The piece is made up of a brooch with a large sapphire, which was the wedding gift that the Queen Mother gave her when she married Prince Charles in 1981. It was Diana who decided to turn the brooch into a necklace and seven rows of pearls that wrap around neck.
The Princess of Wales also wore earrings with sapphires and diamonds, which would take on new life today. Kate Middleton inherited the title and her jewelry and we have already seen her wear these earrings on several important occasions, specifically in the most recent Trooping the Color ceremonies, the first for King Charles III and the last for Queen Elizabeth II.
Diana attended the party accompanied by Liz Tilberies, a friend and editor of Harper’s Bazaar magazine. The two Britons met in London, at a time when Tilberies was editor of Vogue and the Princess of Wales made two covers of the magazine. Diana would die less than a year later, in the tragic car accident that occurred in Paris on August 31. The editor would die in 1999 from ovarian cancer.
Source: Observadora
