Princess Diana's revenge dress is still iconic today. Photo / Getty Images
Princess Diana's revenge dress is still iconic today. Photo / Getty Images
It's a moment we all remember - that evening in 1994 when Princess Diana stepped out to attend a London gala wearing what would become known as the "revenge dress".
As Prince Charles admitted on national television that he had been unfaithful to her, Diana was snapped by photographers wearing a black silk off-the-shoulder gown with an asymmetrical hemline and chiffon train.
Today marks 25 years since her tragic death in 1997. In the years since then, she's been remembered as the People's Princess, a passionate philanthropist, and a fashion icon who still has influence on what we wear today.
Now UK-born author Eloise Moran has released a book all about Princess Diana's iconic fashion choices titled The Lady Di Look Book: What Diana Was Trying To Tell Us Through Her Clothes. Moran is also the creator of the popular Instagram page @ladydirevengelooks.
"With Diana, that was all that was being focused on, especially at the start - her clothing," she explained.
"She wasn't able to give interviews, in a sense she was gagged so we start to see it from her from quite an early point."
A large focus of the book is the iconic revenge dress - or as Moran calls it in the book, "the F*** You Dress" - by Christina Stambolian. Did she wear it for Charles and Camilla's sake? Moran said she was "very intentional" with the details.
"She wanted the hemlines to be shorter, she wanted the heels to be higher, and it really did seem so relatable to how we want to show our exes what they're missing - she wanted to do the same," she told the radio host.
"She didn't need to be attached to him. She was getting on with her life."
Diana went on to auction off the dress, one of 80 she sold just two months before her death.
Part of Diana's enduring appeal when it comes to fashion is her eclectic mix of designer and everyday pieces - which Moran says is how "most people dress" in 2022.
"We're living in changing times, people used to dress to go into the office every day, and life's not like that anymore. So Diana's wardrobe is almost a reflection of post-pandemic dressing."
Princess Diana appears in the December 1991 edition of Vogue Magazine. Photo / Supplied
Her streetwear has clearly influenced the likes of Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner today, and it's something that's attainable for everyone, Moran said.
"A baggy sweatshirt and cycling shorts - everyone can achieve that and I think all shapes and sizes look good in it."
It's possible the media over-analysed what she wore, just as Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's fashion choices are today, she said.
"I think when you are so heavily scrutinised, or your outfits are, and hers really were pinned down to every tiny detail, that I think nothing went amiss with her," Moran went on.
"She thought about everything. And some of the designers I spoke to who had dressed her clarified that as well."
