Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ expected to fetch six-figure sum at auction
The off-the-shoulder silk dress will be offered at Sotheby’s in New York on 9 December, after going on public display in London
By Callum Wells
Princess Diana’s famous “revenge dress” is to be auctioned nearly 30 years after it was last sold, with the black Christina Stambolian design expected to fetch up to £220,000.
The off-the-shoulder silk dress will be offered at Sotheby’s in New York on 9 December, after going on public display in London from 18 September. It will also travel to Sotheby’s locations in Hong Kong and Geneva ahead of the sale.
Diana wore the dress to a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London on 29 June 1994. The event took place on the same evening that the then-Prince Charles appeared in a televised documentary and acknowledged that he had been unfaithful during his marriage to Diana. The couple had separated two years earlier.
When has Princess Diana’s “revenge dress” been previously sold?
Diana had bought it from Stambolian three years before wearing it publicly. The garment was subsequently sold as part of the 1997 Christie’s auction of 79 items from Diana’s wardrobe. The sale raised money for AIDS and cancer charities, with contemporary reports recording strong demand for the garments.
It was bought at that auction by Scottish businessman Grahame Mackenzie and his wife, Briege. The couple subsequently used the dress in fundraising activities. It has remained in their ownership since June 1997.
“My late husband and I knew that this dress was something special,” the consignor says. “Princess Diana was walking into the worst night of her life and you would never know it to look at her. It went from a cocktail dress to a statement in the time it took to photograph her.
“Thirty years on, you can say the words anywhere in the world and everyone knows exactly which dress you mean.”
It follows a series of high-profile sales of Diana’s clothing
The upcoming sale will mark the first time the dress has been offered at auction since Diana’s 1997 sale. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.
It follows a series of high-profile sales of Diana’s clothing. In 2023, her black sheep jumper sold for $1.1 million after a 44-bid auction battle.
Sotheby’s has valued the “revenge dress” at between $150,000 and $300,000 (approx £110,000 to £220,000).