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Why Princess Diana’s Wedding Dress Is Still the Ultimate Gown

Its fashion legacy endures four decades later

This week—July 29, to be exact—marks 40 years since the royal wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. (Insert howww-does-time-move-so-quickly moment here.) Since that summer day in 1981, we’ve seen big-deal royal weddings, but nothing that has equaled the pomp and hype of Diana and Charles’s union, which was watched by more than 750 million viewers in 74 countries. By comparison, William and Kate’s wedding averaged 72 million YouTube livestreams, while Harry and Meghan’s wedding drew 11.2 million.

Though the Diana and Charles marriage didn’t endure (or ever really begin, if we trust The Crown), their big day did deliver one of the most historic fashion moments of all time: Princess Diana’s wedding gown. (You can see Diana’s dress IRL at a special fashion exhibition, “Royal Style in the Making” at Kensington Palace, which runs until 2022.)

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Designed by then-husband-and-wife team David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the dress was an intensely guarded fashion secret that the designers protected for months. In their 2011 book, A Dress for Diana, the Emanuels detail their experience of getting to know the young Lady Diana Spencer and how that iconic dress came to be.

The Emanuels’ relationship with Diana started when the royal chose one of their designs—a pale pink silk blouse—for a photo shoot with British Vogue. From there, Diana turned to the designers to create a dramatic black evening gown for her first appearance following the announcement of her engagement. “That black dress changed the public’s perception of Diana overnight,” the couple write. “One minute she was a young nursery school teacher, and the next she was a fully-fledged princess in waiting. It was astonishing—the birth of a fashion icon before our very eyes.”

The Emanuels were a natural choice to design Princess Diana’s wedding gown; she personally rang them at their London boutique to ask if they would do the honours. “We knew the dress we would create for her would also need to be grand enough to be a part of history,” the Emanuels write. And they delivered.

Diana’s larger-than-life wedding gown was made of silk taffeta and featured a scoop neckline, a ruffled lace collar with bow detailing at the neck and a full ball skirt volumized by a petticoat crafted from multiple layers of tulle. It had intricate embroidery, lace appliqués, voluminous balloon sleeves and a 25-foot sequin-encrusted train. This wedding dress was a literal confection, the likes of which had never been seen before.

“Diana was the people’s princess and we all dreamed of being like her,” says Kate Halfpenny, the British bridalwear designer of Halfpenny London. “When she stepped out in that decadent dress, complete with all the flair and drama of the ’80s, it was everything we wanted for her. Today designers reference back to it for the wonderful theatricality of the silhouette.”

Halfpenny says the royal wedding gown that inspired thousands of knockoff styles through the ’80s and into the ’90s is having a renaissance. “We’ve seen a rise in brides looking to add drama with indulgent trains, huge veils and gorgeous statement sleeves. I’m also seeing a demand for the ball gown growing. We’ve put a modern take on this by creating gowns with detachable skirting, so the dress can be transformed into a more streamlined look for later in the party.”

Here are five incredible Princess-Diana-inspired wedding dresses to bring a little royal glamour to your own big day.

 

Halfpenny LondonHalfpenny London dress, halfpennylondon.com

 

Galia LahavGalia Lahav dress, galialahav.com

 

Lihi HodLihi Hod dress, lihihod.com

 

Jimmy ChooJimmy Choo dress, jimmychoo.com

 

Marchesa for PronoviasMarchesa for Pronovias dress, pronovias.com

 

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