 | |
| Designer | Victor Edelstein |
|---|---|
| Year | 1985 |
| Type | Midnight blue off-the-shoulder evening gown |
| Material | Velvet |
The "Travolta dress" (also known as the "John Travolta dress") is a dress once owned by Diana, Princess of Wales. It was worn for the first time at a gala dinner at the White House in November 1985. It is named after the American actor John Travolta, whom the princess danced with at the dinner.
Designed by London-born Victor Edelstein, the Travolta dress is an off-the-shoulder midnight blue velvet evening gown. It was inspired by Edwardian fashion, giving it a "slight sweep of costume drama". The journalist Jackie Modlinger described it as "dramatic in style" and "regal in fabric". [1]
Edelstein recalls the Princess saw a burgundy version of the dress in his studio and requested it be made for her in midnight blue. The fittings for the gown took place in her private apartments at Kensington Palace. After the fitting, the Princess was so delighted with the final result she rushed to show it to her husband, Charles, Prince of Wales. He reputedly told her she looked wonderful in the gown and that it would be perfect to wear with jewels. [2]
Diana visited the United States in 1985 with Prince Charles. [3] The couple stayed at the White House, where they attended a gala dinner on 9 November. On that occasion, the Princess of Wales wore Edelstein's dress. She was photographed dancing with actor John Travolta in the Entrance Hall to the music of his 1977 film Saturday Night Fever . The photographs and TV footage of them "gliding around the room" were widely circulated around the world, [4] and the gown came to be known as the "Travolta dress". [1]
The Princess of Wales wore the dress again in Germany in 1987 and at the premiere of Oliver Stone's film Wall Street in 1988. [1] She wore it for her last official portrait photograph, taken by Charles' former maternal uncle by marriage, the Earl of Snowdon, in 1997. [4]
Shortly before her death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Diana requested that the dress be sold in a charity auction. Florida-based businesswoman Maureen Dunkel bought it for £100,000 [5] in New York in June 1997, along with nine other dresses formerly owned by the Princess. The Travolta dress was the most expensive one sold at the auction. When she went bankrupt in 2011, Dunkel was forced to put them up for auction, but the Travolta dress was one of six that were not sold. [6] It was finally auctioned off by Kerry Taylor in London on 19 March 2013, fetching £240,000 ($362,424) and again being the most expensive auctioned dress. It was bought by "a British gentleman as a surprise to cheer up his wife". [4]
In 2019, it sold for £264,000 ($325,317) to Historic Royal Palaces, a charity which looks after royal memorabilia including clothing and artifacts. [7] The dress has joined the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection and belongs to the palace. The dress was placed on public display in Kensington Palace, 20 years since it first left. [8]
Diana, Princess of Wales was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her activism and glamour, which made her an international icon, earned her enduring popularity.
Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official London residence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and their two sons. Kensington Palace is sometimes used as a metonym for the offices of royals who officially reside there.
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The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer took place on Wednesday, 29 July 1981, at St Paul's Cathedral in London, United Kingdom. The groom was the heir apparent to the British throne, and the bride was a member of the Spencer family.
Lady Diana Spencer's bridal gown was an ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown, with a 25-foot (7.6 m) train and a 153 yards (140 m) tulle veil, valued then at £9,000. It was worn at Diana's wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales in 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral. It became one of the most famous dresses in the world, and was considered one of the most closely guarded secrets in fashion history.
The wedding dress of Princess Alexandra of Denmark was worn at her wedding to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales on 10 March 1863 in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. It was the first in British royal history to be photographed while being worn. The gown was made by London dressmaker Mrs James of Belgravia. It is now part of the British Royal Collection. In 2011, the dress was part of a display of royal wedding dresses at Kensington Palace.
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Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha on 10 February 1840. She chose to wear a white wedding dress made from heavy silk satin, making her one of the first women to wear white for their wedding. The Honiton lace used for her wedding dress proved an important boost to Devon lace-making. Queen Victoria has been credited with starting the tradition of white weddings and white bridal gowns, although she was not the first royal to be married in white.
Catherine Middleton wore a blue Issa dress during the photocall for her engagement to Prince William of Wales on 16 November 2010, at St. James's Palace. The silk wrap dress matched her engagement ring, and sold out soon after its debut. It contributed to the start of "the Kate Middleton effect", Middleton's impact on the fashion industry, and sparked a trend in "little blue dresses".
Victor Edelstein is a British former couturier best known for his fashion designs for Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1980s. In 1989 he was described as the English equivalent to Oscar de la Renta, and "the master of the English thoroughbred look". He now works as a painter.
Jacques Azagury is a Moroccan-born fashion designer.
The wedding dress worn by Meghan Markle at her wedding to Prince Harry on 19 May 2018 was designed by the British fashion designer Clare Waight Keller, artistic director of the fashion house Givenchy. The bride's veil was embroidered with flowers representing the countries of the Commonwealth; the California poppy, in honour of Markle's home state of California; and wintersweet, a flower that grows at Kensington Palace.
Diana, Princess of Wales, owned a collection of jewels both as a member of the British royal family and as a private individual. These were separate from the coronation and state regalia of the crown jewels. Most of her jewels were either presents from foreign royalty, on loan from Queen Elizabeth II, wedding presents, purchased by Diana herself, or heirlooms belonging to the Spencer family.
Kerry Taylor is a British businesswoman and London-based vintage fashion auctioneer. She created and owns the auction house Kerry Taylor Auctions, which she founded in 2003.
The "revenge dress" was an evening gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales to a 1994 dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The garment has been interpreted as having been worn by Diana "in revenge" for the televised admission of adultery by her husband Charles, then Prince of Wales.
A fashion icon or fashion leader is a influential person who introduces new styles which spread throughout fashion culture and become part of fashion. They initiate a new style which others may follow. They may be famous personalities such as political leaders, celebrities, or sports personalities. For example, during the 1960s, Jackie Kennedy was a great fashion icon for American women, and her style became a sign of wealth, power, and distinction; and her famous Pink Chanel suit is one of the most referenced and revisited of all of her items of clothing. Twiggy was an It girl, she was a teenaged model and fashion icon of Swinging Sixties.
The fashion of Diana, Princess of Wales, had a substantial impact on the clothing industry; her style in the 1980s and 1990s led her to be considered a fashion icon.
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A sari-inspired dress incorporates attributes of the Indian sari into its design. This includes how it drapes, its embellishment and colours.
