Princess Diana's iconic "revenge dress" to be auctioned at Sotheby's for first time since 1990s

A black silk evening dress worn by Princess Diana on one of the most dramatic nights of her public life will go under the hammer for the first time since the 1990s, with Sotheby's expecting bids approaching £220,000 (US$298,110).

The off-the-shoulder gown by Greek designer Christina Stambolian, famously known as the "revenge dress," is scheduled for sale on December 9 during Sotheby's Luxury Week in New York, the auction house announced.

The night that defined a dress

Diana wore the dress in June 1994 as she arrived at the Serpentine Gallery in London for a fundraising dinner. The appearance became instant front-page news because the then Prince Charles, from whom she had been separated for nearly two years but not yet divorced, was widely expected to say in a national television interview broadcast that same evening that he had been unfaithful to her.

According to a later documentary, Diana's choice to wear the Stambolian dress was a last-minute decision after she had initially set aside a more traditional Valentino outfit. "She wanted to look a million dollars," her former stylist Anna Harvey said on the programme, according to Vogue. "And she did".

The dress features an asymmetric hemline and chiffon train. Its bold, off-the-shoulder silhouette marked a departure from Diana's earlier royal wardrobe and became a defining image of her independence during a turbulent chapter of her marriage.

Source: South China Morning Post