In brief
The black silk gown Princess Diana wore to a 1994 Serpentine Gallery gala became the "revenge dress" after Prince Charles publicly admitted infidelity. Sotheby’s announced the garment will be auctioned on 9 December, with a price expectation of $300,000 (£220,000). The dress had last appeared at auction in 1997 for charity and has not sold publicly for nearly three decades. Experts note it may fetch even higher, recalling Diana’s 2023 sweater sale for $1 million.
After 31 years, the black silk gown Princess Diana wore to a 1994 party at the Serpentine Gallery is set to hit the auction block.
The dress, which became known as the "revenge dress", was a pop‑culture icon after Prince Charles publicly admitted infidelity during a BBC documentary that aired the same night.
Sotheby’s has announced that the garment will be auctioned on 9 December, with experts predicting it could fetch up to $300,000 (£220,000).
The dress first appeared at auction in 1997 as part of a charity sale; this will be its first public sale in nearly three decades.
Historically, similar items from Diana’s wardrobe have fetched record sums, such as her sweater sold for $1 million in 2023.
According to Sotheby’s, Clara Anita Anna Harvey, Diana’s stylist at the time, recalled that the princess wanted to look a million dollars as she was prepared to make a last‑minute wardrobe change for the donation dinner.
The dress was paired with a royal jewel, a black clutch and black pumps, while Diana entered the event aboard a Jaguar XJ40 that had itself recently sold at auction for £66,250.
The auction will provide an opportunity for collectors to own a piece of history that symbolised Diana’s assertion of agency during a highly emotional period of her life.
