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LOS ANGELES. − A dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985 has been sold at auction for 11 times its estimated price.
The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress was sold at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood for a total of US$1,148,080.
It has broken a new fashion record as the most expensive dress, worn by Diana, sold at auction.
The gown, which came with a matching illustration, was estimated to sell for US$100 000.
It features shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large bow, and a sash.
Diana first wore the dress in Florence, Italy in 1985 at a dinner while on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales, and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986. The collector’s item was constructed with fabric chosen by world-renowned textile merchant Jakob Schlaepfer and featured metallic embroidered stars carefully threaded by the design team at Jacques Azagury.
The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance.
Previously, the most expensive dress worn by Diana and sold at auction was a 1991 velvet gown by Victor Edelstein which sold for US$604 800 in January.
That means Diana’s Jacques Azagury gown has nearly doubled the gap between first and second place.
Diana wore several designed by the Moroccan-British fashion designer pieces during her time with the royal family.
Other items on sale at the TCM Present: Hollywood Legends auction include a blouse worn by Diana for her engagement portrait in 1981.
The pink crepe blouse has a ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front and was captured on film by royal photographer Lord Snowdon.
It sold for US$381,000, nearly four times its original estimate of US$80,000.
Hollywood stars’ clothes also up for auction included a Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1963 comedy Charade, a sleeveless gown worn by Gloria Swanson in the 1950 noir film Sunset Boulevard and Barbra Streisand’s sailor dress from a 1960s special called My Name Is Barbra. − BBC.
Bongani Ndlovu
Mathew Masinge