Diana, Princess of Wales’s fashion was celebrated in her lifetime, and is now iconic. The press still report how her styles are relevant and imitated today, while dresses worn by her sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
It’s hard to believe then, that when the shy 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer stepped into public life in 1981, she had to learn the dress codes of royal life from scratch. There to help her at every step of the way were the incredibly talented fashion designers who worked with her to create her style.
Through the words of four of her designers, Jasper Conran, Bruce Oldfield, David Sassoon, and Catherine Walker, and the extraordinary pieces from her wardrobe by them in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, cared for by Historic Royal Palaces, we can trace her style journey.
From being just another country girl from an aristocratic family, [Diana] was thrust into the royal limelight, and became the subject of an unprecedented media glare.
David Sassoon, who dressed almost every female member of the Royal Family in his long career
Image: Diana, Princess of Wales attends a church service in Sydney in 1988, wearing her 'Caring Dress'. Photo by Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images
Quickly realising that the media were scrutinising every move and outfit, Diana needed some expert help to get her started on her fashion journey.
The Palace had asked Anna Harvey at Vogue to mastermind the Princess’s wardrobe, so various designers were asked to send a selection of outfits along to the Vogue offices where the Princess would make her choice.
Bruce Oldfield, remembering how Diana was first introduced to the London fashion scene
Other accounts say it was her mother, Frances Shand Kydd, who asked Vogue for help, but either way, this early assistance was vital. Anna Harvey and Vogue pulled together co-ordinating looks, choosing the best pieces available to help the bride-to-be dress for her new life. These were her first steps in building the wardrobe suitable for the dress codes of her new life, and the events she would now attend.
Image: Diana aboard the new P&O cruise liner 'Royal Princess', named in her honour, wearing a Jasper Conran suit. Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Official engagements
Like many people in their 20s, in the early years of her public life, Diana enjoyed experimenting with a range of styles to learn what worked for her. Like all of us, she sometimes made mistakes, often making her outfits too complicated. Looking back on her early fashion choices, Jasper Conran summed up that: 'She needed paring down and simplifying, but there was no chance to tell her.'
There were still more fashion hits than misses during this period, and Conran designed this beautiful, and simple, wool suit for her in 1984.
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Up close: Jasper Conran suit worn by Diana, Princess of Wales
Working members of the Royal Family have many daytime engagements as part of their role, and their clothes must be correct and practical for the occasion. Conran’s wool suit was thick and warm for the event in November 1984, when the Princess launched the P&O cruise liner ‘Royal Princess’ named in her honour.
The suit’s bright red colour is a classic choice for royal dressing, meaning the huge crowds who turned out could instantly spot her, while the padded shoulders brought just the right amount of on-trend fashion for the 1980s.
The metal buttons with an anchor might not have been visible to the crowds, but were the perfect touch for the nautical occasion.
The suit is on display in the Dress Codes exhibition at Kensington Palace until 30 November 2025.
Image: © Historic Royal Palaces / Image captured by Google
Image: Diana, Princess of Wales, standing out from the crowd in her Jasper Conran suit, visits Southampton to launch the new cruise liner 'Royal Princess' in 1984. Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Whenever the Princess discussed her clothes with me part of it was always: 'What message will I be giving out when I wear this?' For her, that became the real language of clothes.
Jasper Conran, remembering the Princess’ philosophy when choosing her clothes for an occasion
Overseas visits
It is always crucial to get the language of clothes right for one of the most important duties members of the Royal Family undertake, official visits overseas. Here, they are representing the UK abroad, meeting the heads of state of other countries.
I could no more design what I liked than she could wear what she liked. The design had to be right for the occasion.
Catherine Walker, summing up the challenge of designing for foreign tours
Bruce Oldfield noted how different the Princess's needs were: 'Dressing her was quite different form dressing the divas who were going to swish parties. This was more a question of dressing a young woman who, to an extent, was relying on us to set her straight, knowing we wouldn’t let her down in the concept of the garment, the way it fitted and the way it was made.'
Oldfield’s magnificent red evening dress, designed for the tour of Saudi Arabia in 1986, shows how perfectly he met the brief.
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Up close: Bruce Oldfield dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales
Made in red silk-crêpe, with beautiful couture construction and embroidery and a long skirt, this dress is a classic evening gown, with the dropped waist and padded shoulders bringing just the right amount of 1980s fashion.
The high neckline and long sleeves meant it was appropriate to the clothing culture of the Princess’s Middle Eastern hosts, showing the sensitivity required for diplomatic dressing on a royal tour.
It was worn to a private event during the tour, meaning no photographs are known of the Princess wearing it, but she must have looked wonderful in it.
Image: © Historic Royal Palaces
Charity work
Diana, Princess of Wales, saw her charity work as central to her role, and she carefully chose her clothes for this part of her life.
Catherine Walker said that: 'Diana was also an intuitive dresser; she did not primarily dress for the fashion intelligentsia. As the most photographed woman in history, she was dressing for a very wide audience, and in doing so she touched many hearts.'
The press became her mirror. But thankfully, she was stubborn and took note of criticism by seeing for herself how she looked in the designs, and not how critics saw her.
Jasper Conran, on how Diana developed her style
There was one dress that the press definitely noticed, pointing out that she wore it too much, but that’s because it was perfect for her charity work.
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Up close: sketch for Diana's 'Caring Dress'
The sketch for the ‘Caring Dress’, designed by David Sassoon, shows the beautiful blue colour, with the bright yellow and pink flowers, of the printed silk fabric.
Image: © Historic Royal Palaces
Image: Diana, Princess of Wales visits The Lighthouse project for people with HIV/AIDS in 1992, wearing her 'Caring Dress'. Photo by Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
Sassoon explained the Princess’s philosophy behind this dress: 'She was particularly conscious about her choice of outfit when she visited hospitals, children’s homes, or hospices; when she was meeting children or the elderly. She liked to wear bright, pretty colours that would appeal to and hopefully cheer up those she was visiting.'
She never wore it with the broad-brimmed hat in the sketch, as it would have got in the way of getting close to people. Instead, particularly when visiting small children, she chose chunky jewellery, knowing that it would give them something to play with while she held them.
The dress itself survives and sold in June 2025 at Julien’s Auctions in Los Angeles for $520,000, a testament to how important the dress was to Diana, and how important her fashion legacy is today.
Evening wear
Perhaps the most iconic part of Diana, Princess of Wales’s wardrobe is her evening wear, worn to the most important events, from state dinners to film premiers and charity balls. When she stepped out of the car, all eyes, and cameras, were on what she was wearing.
I had a sort of private brief to design a dignified showstopper. It was almost a contradiction.
Catherine Walker, who created some of Diana’s most famous gowns
The Princess’s evening gowns changed over time, and Walker’s style changed with them, as she explained: 'In the early eighties Diana’s designs had to be more elaborate. […] Her designs could not be simple. Later on this changed, and I worked on a look that was more pared down and less elaborate, and one that was beautiful from all angles.'
Historic Royal Palaces cares for a dress that perfectly shows this pared down, but beautiful, style, that defined Diana’s look in the 1990s. It’s definitely a ‘dignified showstopper’.
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Up close: Catherine Walker dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales
This green velvet dress dates to 1992. It combines a traditional tailoring style at the front, with a double-breasted construction and peak lapels, with a striking backless halter neck behind. The simple shape is enhanced with the luxurious fabric and diamante buttons.
It possibly shows another aspect of the Princess’s style as well. She wore the dress to private family dinners, and she often chose even bolder styles for private formal wear than for public occasions.
The dramatic styling of this dress would have been perfect, and reflects the style choices we most remember her for today.
Image: © Historic Royal Palaces / Catherine Walker
Dress Codes
Until 30 November 2025
Discover never-before-seen royal and court fashion treasures in Dress Codes, a new exhibition at Kensington Palace.
The dresses today
Today, Diana, Princess of Wales’s wardrobe is in public and private collections around the world, a process the Princess started herself. The green velvet dress was one of 79 Diana put out into the world in a charity auction at Christies in July 1997, raising over $3.2 million for HIV/AIDS and cancer charities. The sale put her famous wardrobe to use one more time, helping her to support the causes she cared for.
Diana’s dresses still bring crowds whenever they are shown, and still make headlines and set auction records whenever they are sold. Part of the reason for this is that she understood that clothes were a form of communication that could support her in her work and life.
Clothes were even more a form of language for Diana, because she spent all of her adult life dressed up for a royal job.
Catherine Walker
We can read the Princess’s life, from shy country aristocrat to global humanitarian, through her wardrobe. I think there’s something more to say as well though, and David Sassoon put it best: 'Contrary to popular belief, she didn’t take fashion too seriously, but she enjoyed it, and always kept it fun. For Diana, fashion was fun, it wasn’t a chore but a pleasure; she loved to dress up – she liked to star and surprise.'
This sense of enjoyment and fun, working with the best designers to see what clothes could do for her, comes through in all of Diana, Princess of Wales’s famous wardrobe, ensuring she will always be a fashion icon.
Matthew Storey
Curator (Collections)
Historic Royal Palaces
Watch: How Diana, Princess of Wales understood royal fashion
In this video, Curator Matthew Storey looks at three more outfits from the Princess's wardrobe, each a great example of how Diana understood fashion and spotlighting the best of 1980s fashion.
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Open the Royal Wardrobe
Get up close with five centuries of clothing in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection on Google Arts & Culture.
Sources
- For Jasper Conran: Georgina Howell, Diana Her Life in Fashion, Pavillion, 1998
- For Bruce Oldfield: Bruce Oldfield, Rootless: An Autobiography, Arrow, 2004
- For David Sassoon: David Sassoon and Sinty Stemp, The Glamour of Bellville Sassoon, ACC Editions, 2009
- For Catherine Walker: Catherine Walker, Catherine Walker: An Autobiography By the Private Couturier to Diana, Princess of Wales, Universe, 1998
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