Today, Princess Diana’s rebellious sense of fashion continues to inspire high-end fashion designers. This is according to a model and activist.
Leomie Anderson from Britain, British model and actress, spoke in Channel 4’s Diana Queen of Style tonight at 10pm. She said the royal died in 1997. Her outfits conveyed an ‘chic sense of rebellion’ that many designers try to replicate today.
Leomie states that Diana is a major inspiration for a lot high-fashion designers because she was seen in the role of the rebel queen. “I feel that that’s an energy that a lot designers attempt to capture in the collections.
“I believe that people are trying to emulate Diana’s chic couture elements, while adding a rebellious twist.”
Jacque Zagagury, the sesigner who dressed Diana several times, noted that the royal often wore short, revealing gowns – like the one she donned at the Serpentine Galleries in June 1994, or the blue outfit she wore to the Royal Albert Hall, June 1997 – in order to prove she was an ‘free woman’.
Channel 4’s Diana, Queen of Style airs at 10 p.m. tonight. It explores the influence Princess Diana’s fashion choices have on today’s fashion trends. Pictured is the princess in the Christina Stambolian, black gown that was referred to now as the’revenge’ dress. It was taken at the Serpentine Gallery London in June 1994.
The documentary examines how Princess of Wales’ style and wardrobe have remained timeless and remain popular in the 21st century.
Justine Picardie, a fashion writer claims that Princess Diana was inspired by her clothes and helped her connect with people. She also said that her personal style of communicating through her clothing will be appealing to the future generation.
“Every generation will come back to Diana, because each generation understands life’s fabric, love, and loss,” she says.
“And we know that Diana’s clothing reflects our emotions. We see it in our happiness, sadness, joy, loss, and grief.
Elizbeth Emaniel, famously the designer of Diana’s wedding gown, says that the princess wasn’t always as well-informed about the potential power clothes.
Pictured is Princess Diana, wearing a light blue dress made by Jacques Azagury. She wore it to see ‘Swan Lake’ at the Royal Albert Hall on June 27, 1997.
The Royal was not always an expert in the art of clothing, but she looked elegant even though she was shy. In her iconic sheep sweater, 1980.
“In the beginning when Diana first met me, I don’t believe she ever thought about fashion,” she says. She said that although she liked wearing clothes, she never considered what kind of clothes would look best for her. We were young, so it wasn’t all that familiar.
This changed when Princess Diana, who was 19 years old at the time, got engaged to Prince Charles. She wore a black taffetas gown with a transparent neckline and wore it for an evening at The Royal Opera House in 1981.
Elizabeth recalls that a black dress was on Elizabeth’s rail. It was just a sample, but Elizabeth loved it. Elizabeth tried on the gown and thought it was beautiful. We didn’t realize that black, which is usually reserved for funerals, was not the best colour to wear.
“But, it was also very low-cut and everybody went insane when she wore that gown. The outfit was controversial. The outfit caught the attention of every fashion journalist at that time.
Today, the dress can be seen as Diana’s moment of triumph.
“I believe that she realized the power and versatility of clothing vocabulary from then on. She continued to use it as a tool over the years.” Elizabeth said that she knew this could create an impact.
Justine also discusses how the former royal used her clothes often to communicate a message.
“In the 1980s, there was still a sexist society, and women such as Diana were not seen or heard,” she said. Her way to communicate with the rest of the world was through clothes.
Before the scandalous details about her unfaithful marriage to Prince Charles were revealed, she says that Princess Diana’s clothes made her more relatable.
Justine states, “I believe that Diana is People’s Prince, the woman people feel like they know as if we are their friends, our sister, and their mother.” She must have been very proud of her clothes. It was then that nobody realized that she and her husband were in serious trouble.
British model Leomie, Anderson (pictured in 2020), says Diana’s rebellious spirit inspires fashion designers today
“So it was not as if Diana could be related to as someone who was going through heartbreak.
Author Banseka Kayembe agrees: ‘I think fundamentally, her clothing is a way to have a voice in a media landscape that doesn’t like to give women voices and doesn’t like to give women any kind of autonomy about their own narrative and their story.’
Prince Charles and Princess Diana separated in 1992. She came back to the UK with a more confident wardrobe.
The Duchess is often remembered for her June 1994 visit to Serpentine Gallery, on the evening Prince Charles and Camilla-Bowles were involved in an affair.
For the occasion she donned a revealing dress by Christina Stambolian which is still spilling ink today.
This design was a fitted black off-the shoulder dress with a slender hemline. It was also known as the “Revenge Dress” and has its own Wikipedia page.
Designer Jacques Azagurdy designed the dresses for Diana’s 1990s wedding gowns. He testified that the Princess wanted to wear more revealing clothes.
Pictured: Diana at age 19, making a fuss in her black taffetas gown designed by Emanuels, for an event at the Royal Opera House, 1981. This made Diana realize the impact fashion has on people
He talks about a blue-diamond dress that he designed for her. It was worn at Swan Lake’s Royal Albert Hall performance in June 1997.
He says, “This was probably the most famous dress that the Princess wore.” He makes a joke about the shortness of it. The princess is 5ft 10 inches tall.
Pointing to the dress’ cleavage and hemline, he adds: ‘It was very low here and, very high there. In fact, she requested it to be a little shorter.
“She really wanted to communicate that, yes, she was finally a free woman and she felt confident about herself. She also believed she could be happy for herself.
Channel 4’s Diana: Queen Of Style airs at 10 pm tonight