A stunning cocktail dress made for Princess Diana by one of her favourite designers has emerged for sale for $200,000.
The gown is the marquee lot in a celebrity fashion sale held by Julien’s Auctions, in Los Angeles, California.
Catherine Walker designed the black silk velvet dress for the people’s princess who wore it at a private function in 1985.
The dress is similar to her ‘revenge dress’ by Christina Stamboulian which she wore in 1994 a day after the televised admission of adultery by her then husband Charles.
The Walker gown has an off-the-shoulder neckline, ivory satin accents, a princess-seamed bodice and a knee-length hem with ‘zebra-like’ black and white strips around the top and bottom of it, as well as the bottom of the sleeves.
A stunning cocktail dress made for Princess Diana by one of her favourite designers has emerged for sale for £160,000 ($200,000) held by Julien’s Auctions, in Los Angeles , California
It was claimed by fashion writers that Diana preferred off-the-shoulder necklines as they showed off her ‘spectacular gym tone shoulders’.
Diana is believed to have worn 1,000 of the French-English courtier Walker’s designs and was buried in a black dress she purchased from her shortly before her death in a 1997 car crash.
Also up for grabs is a Givenchy wool, tweed sleeveless dress with matching tweed jacket and white hat worn by Princess Grace of Monaco in 1961 to meet President Kennedy at the White House. It is valued at £64,000.
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex In The City opening credits tutu made by the show’s costume designer Patricia Field in 1997 could fetch £9,600.
A Julien’s spokesperson said: ‘Diana wore Catherine Walker’s pieces because of their dignified aesthetics and elegance.
‘Walker was attuned to the princess and knew what colours, neckline and arm length worked for her.
‘Walker was one of the few designers who could devote much of her time and business to Diana’s wardrobe because her label was made-to-order.
Catherine Walker designed the black silk velvet dress for the people’s princess who wore it at a private function in 1985
Diana wearing a similar off the shoulder black dress, by Christina Stamboulian, during a party at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1994
‘Because Walker could devote so much time to her work with Diana, their close collaboration produced the signature style that made Princess Diana a fashion icon.’
The late British fashion journalist Georgina Howell wrote in Diana Her Life In Fashion: ‘Diana loved off-the-shoulder and halterneck dresses… because they showed off her spectacular gym tone shoulders.’
The sale takes place at Julien’s Auctions, in Los Angeles on 18 January.
It comes after a mystery Princess Diana superfan broke fashion records after a dress she wore in 1985 was bought for almost £1million at auction.
The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress sold at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood for eleven times its estimated price, having been tipped to sell for $100,000.
Fans of the late Princess last weekend battled it out to unforeseen heights, with the winner splashing out $1.148million (£904,262).
Sarah Jessica Parker’s Sex In The City opening credits tutu made by the show’s costume designer Patricia Field in 1997 could fetch £9,600
Also up for grabs is a Givenchy wool, tweed sleeveless dress with matching tweed jacket and white hat worn by Princess Grace of Monaco in 1961 to meet President Kennedy at the White House. It is valued at £64,000
Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco at the White House to meet President Kennedy in 1961
The gown, complete with shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large blue bow, and a sash – is now the new record holder as the most expensive dress worn by Diana sold at auction.
The previous record holder, a 1991 velvet gown by Victor Edelstein, fetched $604,800 (£476,437) at an auction in January.
Diana first wore the dress at a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in Italy in 1985 whilst on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales. She also donned it again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986.
The identity of the buyer of the Jacques Azagury gown is unknown – prompting speculation as to who Diana’s mega-fan might be.
The collector’s item was constructed with fabric chosen by world-renowned textile merchant Jakob Schlaepher and features blue metallic embroidered stars carefully threaded by the design team.
The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance.
Diana initially donned the frock in Italy in 1985 whilst on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales, (pictured) and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986
A gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985 broke a new fashion record, going under the hammer in Hollywood for 11 times its estimated price
Auctioneers described the outfit as a ‘beautiful, romantic ballerina-length evening dress’.
The catalogue continued: ‘With padded shoulder pads features a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars in metallic thread made from Jakob Schlaepfer fabric with a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow.
‘Diana would wear numerous dresses and gowns by Azagury, one of her favourites was an ice blue silk georgette minidress worn 3 June 1997 to Royal Albert Hall for a performance of Swan Lake.’
There were 19 bids on the dress, with all proceeds from the sale to go the the New York Historical Society.
Diana went on to wear several Jacques Azagury pieces during her time with the royal family, after the Moroccan-British fashion designer was introduced to her by Anna Harvey, the fashion editor of British Vogue.