Princess Diana's gowns not seen for decades fetch over ￡1M at luxury auction – see the photos, and other iconic outfits from Hollywood royalty
A selection of rare and iconic gowns worn by the late Princess Diana have collectively sold for over ￡1M at an ultra-glamorous auction in Beverly Hills. As part of the auction, titled Legends: Hollywood and Royalty, three designer dresses belonging to the late Princess of Wales which have not been seen in public for more than 30 years went on sale.
Three stunning and rare gowns belonging to the late Princess Diana fetched over ￡1M in a Beverly Hills auction
The luxurious event also included outfits and accessories from the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Lauren Bacall
Beverly Hills is always known for its glamour, but even by their standards, a recent auction upped the ante.
The Legends: Hollywood and Royalty auction included three very special gowns belonging to the late Princess Diana – and they’ve not been seen in public for nearly three decades.
One of the marquee items was the red silk gown worn by the late Princess to a movie premiere in November 1991 surpassed all expectations and sold for ￡458,484 ($571,500).
The silk dress had initially been expected to sell for between ￡160K and ￡320K. The stunning gown was worn by Diana in 1991, paired with a pearl choker at the premiere of Charlie Sheen’s Hot Shots!
Diana and Bruce Oldfield were frequent fashion collaborators, but he has maintained a close relationship with the Royal Family and fans will be familiar with his work on Queen Camilla’s stunning Coronation gown.
Back to the auction and another of Diana’s outfits proved to be a hot item - a black and jade gown by Catherine Walker, Diana’s personal designer for more than 16 years who is also beloved by Kate Middleton (who just so happened to wear a Catherine Walker blazer this weekend!).
Diana wore the jade gown to a gala event in Toronto, Canada, in October 1991. The dress fetched ￡458,484.
The final item from the late Princess was another Catherine Walker classic - a custom-made black velvet and ivory gown.
Worn by Diana to a private function, it sold for an impressive ￡407,541, far surpassing the estimate of between￡48K and ￡64K.
While the late Princess Diana brought the touch of classic royal glamour, her outfits were in the company of Hollywood royalty.
Other high-ticket items include a Givenchy couture pink evening dress, worn by Audrey Hepburn when she played Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart’s matching 14 Carat gold wedding rings, and Judy Garland’s duchess satin wedding gown designed by Tom Keogh in the 1948 film The Pirate co-starring Gene Kelly.
Martin Nolan, executive director and founder of Julien’s Auctions, said, “Buoyed by the tremendous success of this three-day sale – which brought in a record number of registrants and bidders from across the globe – we are already busy at work in the launch of our next Hollywood auction that will be a year-end spectacular as we celebrate Julien’s 20th anniversary.”
We’ll be sure to share all the stunning and historical fashion pieces from any future auctions!