Just months after breaking free from palace protocols, Princess Diana made a bold statement at the 1996 Met Gala by donning a provocative revenge dress.
The inky lingerie-inspired dress, worn without a bra, reflected the liberation she felt after divorcing the now King Charles III.
Read on to learn more about Diana’s stunning look at the New York event!
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Before the late Princess of Wales arrived at the Met Gala in a stretch limo, she sipped champagne, dined with the world’s top designers, and shocked attendees with her unroyal attire.
After 15 years of marriage, Diana was living freely, untethered from royal family rules. Her divorce from King Charles III was finalized in August of that year.
At her first Met Gala, Diana wore a silk navy-blue slip dress with black lace, paired with a matching silk robe. She accessorized with sparkling sapphire earrings and a choker necklace she designed from a sapphire brooch gifted to her by the Queen Mother on her wedding day to Charles.
But it wasn’t the sapphire jewelry that turned heads that evening.
According to Eloise Moran, author of “The Lady Di Look Book: What Diana Was Trying To Tell Us Through Her Clothes,” Diana’s outfit was a “revenge” look.
“That was one of her most shocking dresses. But I thought she looked fabulous. She just looks so happy and confident,” Moran told Yahoo. “She was embracing and enjoying it. She knew she could never escape the spotlight, but she was positioning herself differently, as an international megastar, Marilyn Monroe-type icon rather than a royal family member. The dress reflected that.”
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Fashion editor Hilary Alexander noted that while it’s common to see celebrities wearing underwear as outerwear, it was different for a princess to do so at a formal occasion.
Speaking of Diana’s midnight blue dress, which cost about $12,500 at the time, Alexander said, “It is a very sensual rather than overly sexy dress, and it is miles away from the more formal outfits she usually picks.”
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