There is not a glimmer here of the Diana who would later wield her glamour like a superpower on the world stage.īut it was because her style metamorphosis happened before the eyes of the public that it was so compelling. Her sensible peacoat is sixth-former-adjacent, her ballet pumps well worn, her skirts oversized and slightly droopy.
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In our first glimpse of Diana in the new series of The Crown, we see her as a schoolgirl, dressed as a tree, then as a part-time nursery school teacher. Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty ImagesĪs a fashion icon, Diana occupies hallowed territory alongside Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Jackie Onassis, but she did not start out with great style. It is a mark of how vivid the memory of Diana remains that the same costume department that skilfully updated the mid-century tailoring of the Queen, the 60s daring of Princess Margaret and the 70s chic of Princess Anne, altering silhouette and colour to make those wardrobes palatable to the modern eye, has stuck faithfully to the original wedding dress, in all its overblown glory.ĭiana in her wedding dress. The designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel provided the original patterns for the dress and a copy was made by a team of 20 seamstresses, with David Emanuel on hand as a consultant. A close replica of her silk taffeta wedding dress was made for The Crown’s royal wedding scene – complete with 7.6-metre (25ft) train. The Diana who is coming back to life most vividly is not the tragic “people’s princess” of 1997, but the fairytale bride of 1981. While in real life, the row over her interview with Martin Bashir has reignited, with Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, calling for a formal inquiry into how it was secured.Įmma Corrin, the actor who plays Diana in this series, graced the cover of the October issue as a vision of 80s royal glamour in a strapless sapphire-blue Oscar de la Renta ballgown, resplendent with the feathered hair and moonbeam complexion of the young princess. Netflix has also announced the Diana musical is to be filmed and broadcast next year. But there is also a documentary to mark the 25th anniversary of her death, and a Hollywood film, Spencer, in the works, in which Kristen Stewart plays the princess. The fourth season of The Crown has already put Princess Diana back in Vogue. Now, in this strange season of death, Diana is about to make a return to our national life. And the sickening jolt that comes with finding that the world can turn itself upside down without a moment’s notice. The cultural and political shock waves that threatened the monarchy. The outpouring of emotion that recalibrated a country’s self-image. The sea of flowers outside Kensington palace. U ntil this spring, the defining experience of shared grief and loss in living British memory could be summed up in one word: Diana.