The ornate gown, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, worn by the Princess of Wales for the premiere of Ivan the Terrible by the Bolshoi Ballet at the Royal Opera House, London, in 1986. Photo: Sean Dempsey/PA WireA “fairy tale” dress that once belonged to Princess Diana has sold for more than £100,000 at auction.
The ornate gold and white gown, designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, features sequins, crystals and pearl beads and was worn by Diana on several occasions, including the premiere of James Bond film The Living Daylights.
It was sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions in London for £102,000, including buyer’s premium, having been estimated to reach between £50,000 and £80,000. There was a huge amount of interest from the US but a museum based in another overseas country made the successful bid.
Kerry Taylor said: “This is the 11th Princess Diana dress that I have sold this year, and I feel very lucky and privileged. It is a beautiful dress, worn by a beautiful woman, and deserved to do well.”
The auctioneer described the dress as having a “pretty, fairy-tale princess feel to it” and added that the dress’s current owner “is pleased that the gown will be preserved for others to enjoy in years to come”.
Diana first saw the dress at a Red Cross benefit fashion show in summer 1986, and rather than having it specially commissioned from the designers, she was happy to take the standard size 10 dress from the show.
She wore it at a banquet at the German ambassador’s residence in London in July 1986, and to the Royal Opera House for a performance of Ivan the Terrible by the Bolshoi Ballet later the same month, as well as to the film premiere in Leicester Square the following year.
According to the auctioneer, Elizabeth Emanuel said that because of its lavish decoration and striking gold and white colours, the dress was something that people would either love or hate and she remembered that the Princess told her she ‘‘loved it’’.
