Princess Diana's 'Revenge Dress' Is Heading to Auction for the First Time in Nearly 30 Years

On June 29, 1994—the same day her then-estranged husband publicly acknowledged his infidelity—Diana, Princess of Wales, stepped out wearing a chic, black frock and made a fashion statement that reverberated around the world. Now, the iconic strapless silk gown that became known as the “revenge dress” is heading to auction for the first time in nearly 30 years. Sotheby’s will offer the dress on December 9, during its Luxury Week sale series in New York.

Diana married Charles, Prince of Wales—now Charles III, King of England—on July 29, 1981. They had two sons together: William in 1982 and Harry in 1984. But by the mid-1980s, their marriage had deteriorated, and both Charles and Diana had extramarital affairs.

They separated in December 1992. A couple of years later, a two-and-a-half-hour documentary aired on national television, in which Charles admitted to infidelity. During filming, the British journalist Jonathan Dimbleby asked then-45-year-old Charlies if he had tried to be “faithful and honorable” to Diana when they got married.

A few hours after the documentary aired, Diana attended a party at the Serpentine Gallery, in London. She had reportedly planned to wear a different gown but opted instead for the little black dress. Featuring an asymmetrical hemline, a pleated bodice, a side train and an off-the-shoulder neckline, the dress had been created by the Greek fashion designer Christina Stambolian for Diana three years earlier.

But it hung in her closet until that fateful evening, when she selected it with help from her butler Paul Burrell. Diana opted to pair the form-fitting dress with Manolo Blahnik heels, a pearl-and-sapphire choker necklace and a Salvatore Ferragamo clutch bag. The public adored it: Diana was back.” Diana arrived at the Serpentine Gallery event in a vintage Jaguar XJ40 Sovereign.

Earlier this summer, the vehicle sold for roughly $90,000. The dress allowed Diana to communicate without saying a word, underscoring just how instinctively she understood fashion’s influence. She “turned the dress into one of the most powerful messages she ever made,” and she did so “on her own terms,” Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s global head of handbags and fashion, says in a statement.