The boom in value of dresses owned by Diana Princess of Wales will undergo another test at an auction in Ireland in June.
The most valuable items carry estimates of $200,000 to $400,000.
That’s for a Victor Edelstein evening dress in magenta silk and lace. It was worn twice in public by Diana, at 1987 appearances in London and Hamburg.
Diana was photographed a number of times in a 1986 Murray Arbeid midnight blue tulle diamante star gown that is also tipped for a $200,000 to $400,000 sale. She wore it at the Phantom of the Opera premiere in October 1986 and for a dinner earlier that summer. When Diana sold some of her own gowns in 1997 she was photographed by Lord Snowdon wearing the piece for the catalogue.
This gown could realise $400,000, but recent sales suggest it will surpass that. Image courtesy Juliens Auctions.
A Catherine Walker design for the Chelsea Design Company carries an estimate of $100,000 to $200,000. Diana was photographed wearing the pink floral silk shirt dress in August 1991, as she left Prince Harry’s school in Notting Hill, London.
Another Catherine Walker gown is also expected to make $100,000 to $200,000. This black velvet evening gown was never worn in public by Diana.
Two handbags are expected to realise $2,000 to $4,000. A pair of Kurt Geiger emerald green satin jeweled vamp evening shoes carries the same, very low looking, estimate.
Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car accident in 1997.
She is still the most popular and collectible member of the UK royal family. She was a major fashion figure and her gowns are now hugely collectible and very valuable.
In December 2023, a Jacques Azagury gown sold for $1,148,080, around double the previous highest price paid for a Diana gown and well over its estimate.
Diana remains very current. Her story has been told in the hit Netflix show, The Crown, and in a Hollywood biopic starring Kristen Stewart in the 2020s. Her son will be the next king of the UK.
Her taste means the gowns she chose are also important fashion items and museum-quality pieces.
The estimates in this sale seem very likely be broken.
Diana remains a global superstar, and the lots for this sale are touring to Hong Kong and Ireland before the sale goes live on June 27.
