A black velvet gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1980s has been sold for 11 times its estimated price, setting a record as the most expensive dress worn by the princess ever sold at auction.
Julien’s Auctions, which sold the gown on Sunday as part of its year-end, four-day Hollywood Legends event in Los Angeles, had listed it with a low estimate of US$100,000. After a fierce battle of 19 bids, it achieved a final price of US$1.148 million, setting a pair of records in the process.
The price was almost double the US$604,800 fetched by the sale of the Princess’s 1991 velvet gown by Victor Edelstein in January that held the previous record for her most expensive dress. It also became the most expensive piece of Diana’s clothing to be sold after her famous black sheep jumper was bought in September for what was then a record US$1.143 million.
“This sale confirms that Diana is not only a Royal legend but now an auction legend whose reign changed the world,” Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions, tells Penta.
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The gown, which came with a matching illustration, was sold by the New-York Historical Society, and all proceeds will go back to the museum. Nolan said that the buyer was a private individual who planned to exhibit the dress and other items in the future.
Created by the Moroccan-British fashion designer Jacques Azagury, the ballerina-length evening gown incorporated fabrics chosen by the renowned Swiss textile manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer. Typical of 1980s design, the dress features shoulder pads, long sleeves, and a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars in metallic thread, as well as a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow—a nod to Diana’s love of dance and her being a patron of The English National Ballet. (Diana wore numerous pieces designed by Azagury throughout her reign.)
The dress was first sold at auction in June 1997, just two months before the princess’s death. It was part of a charity sale titled Dresses From the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales by Christie’s in New York, and was purchased for US$26,450 by Time Inc., which then donated it to the New-York Historical Society in 2015.
Diana initially wore the dress in Florence, Italy, while on a royal tour with
Prince Charles
in 1985. She wore it again a year later in Vancouver, Canada, when she and the Prince were there to open the Expo ’86 World’s Fair.
Another Diana piece achieved the second-highest price at Sunday’s auction, as the blush pink chiffon blouse she wore in her 1981 engagement portrait sold for US$381,000. Created by the British designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, the crepe blouse—which has a ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front—was famously captured by royal photographer Lord Snowdon and appeared in the February 1981 issue of Vogue.
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Held in partnership with Turner Classic Movies, the Hollywood Legends sale netted more than US$7 million overall, marking the most successful Hollywood memorabilia auction in the Los Angeles-based auction house’s 20-year history. More than 1,100 lots were sold, with 16,351 registered bids having come from bidders around the world.
The sale launched last Thursday and highlights included an original mechanical animatronic E.T. head, which sold for US$635,000, and the original Model B-9 (“The Robot”) from the 1960s series Lost In Space, which brought in US$455,000.
Day two was headlined by the sales of Bruce Lee’s screen-used nunchaku from the 1972 film Fist of Fury (US$162,500), and a “Proteus” submarine model from the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage (US$158,750).
The third day, which celebrated the 25th anniversary of The Big Lebowski with the sale of more than 250 items including original hand-drawn storyboards and screen-used wardrobe pieces, netted a total of US$799,943. Items worn by Jeff Bridges in his role as “The Dude” earned the highest prices, as a shirt and robe sold for US$169,000, and a pair of sunglasses fetched US$88,900.
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