Princess Diana

A Murray Arbied embellished tulle gown belonging to Princess Diana of Wales, worn twice in 1986, once to the Phantom of the Opera premiere (October 1, 1986), and again to a dinner at Claridge's for King Constantine of Greece (July 6, 1986). Diana was also photographed in the gown attending a ballet performance of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House on December 17, 1987. Ten years later in 1997, Lord Snowden shot portraits for Princess Diana's dress auction (June 25, 1997); the portrait of Diana wearing this Arbeid design was included in the auction catalog Dresses From the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales. 

This gown was loaned for exhibition at Kensington Palace, from February 24, 2017 to February 2019, for Diana: Her Fashion Story. 

A midnight blue tulle strapless gown with a fitted bodice that extends past the hips that then goes into a four-layered tulle flared skirt. The gown is lined with a purple acetate, the interior of the bodice is boned, and has an interior petersham waistband to balance the weight of the gown. Arbied designed the gown that features a ruched bodice starting from the sweet-heart neckline that continues past the hips, the entire bodice is decorated with mini diamonte stones in star-shapes, complimenting the dark blue, emulating a twilight sky. The layered skirt has an A-line shape, and the hem of each layer has crinoline tape sewn allowing each layer to float. There is a Murray Arbied London label present, along with a material composition tag.

Diana dubbed the "People's Princess," was also a princess of economics wearing gowns numerous times to support cost per wear. Diana wearing the gowns several times helped Arbeid's business as well as other designers she wore. Gowns can often lose a design house money due to materials, fittings, and numerous alterations, so Diana to help compensate for that time would wear a gown for several functions, helping the designer gain more press and clientele. Diana's patronage of Arbied's designs leadled to Estee Lauder, Danielle Steele, and Queen Noor of Jordan to become clients. 

Diana was intuitive with her fashion choices, wearing this fairytale-like design with a gravity-defying floating flared skirt to a ballet performance of Cinderella at the Royal Opera House on December 17, 1987. 

The lot comes with a copy of DIANA A LIFE IN FASHION: PART SIX published and distributed by The Daily Mail.