Taken from the Royal Archive of Emanuel, these are the garments that introduced Lady Diana to the Public.
As the 13 year anniversary of her death approaches, are once again reminded of the iconic status of Princess Diana. On June 8th, at Kerry Taylor Auctions, London, garments belonging to the Princess, sparked a world wide bidding frenzy.
These garments were taken from the Royal Archive of designers Elizabeth Emanuel and David Emanuel. Indeed these are garments that introduced the shy, young, Lady Diana Spencer to the public.
The Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons is proud to confirm that it has secured the most iconic pieces from this collection. Included are; the chiffon blouse worn by Lady Diana Spencer for her engagement portrait, the final Wedding Dressing toile, the Royal Wedding Veils, exact miniatures of the Wedding and Bridesmaid dresses made from the original bridal silk and lace and an album of press clippings.
Since opening on June 1st 2007, the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons has evolved to become one of the greatest private collections of artefacts world wide. Showcasing the collections of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson and many more, the Museum attracts in excess of 350k visitor per year.
On June 8th 2010, William Doyle, CEO, Newbridge Silverware, succeeded in adding the collection of Princess Diana, to this permanent exhibition.
"We are extremely honoured to showcase the collection of the Queen of Hearts, Princess Diana, at our Museum of Style Icons. Diana was not only a style icon and beautiful princess, but a humanitarian who touched the lives of so many people. Her legacy continues to inspire us to this very day and will do for generations to come" William Doyle, CEO
These pieces will now go on public display at the Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons from Saturday June 12th. ENTRY IS FREE
 Chiffon Blouse, Princess Diana
Garment Details as follows:
Item Description:
The Chiffon Blouse worn by Lady Diana Spencer for her engagement portrait taken by Lord Snowdon and also used in the February issue of Vogue, 1981, of oyster pink crepe silk chiffon, with soft ruff-like collar, pleats to the front, flounced cuffs, lined in ivory silk, bust 92cm, 36in; together with a pink satin ribbon bow for the neck; a photograph of Diana wearing the blouse which was reproduced in Vogue, and a letter of authenticity signed |
 Calico Toile, Princess Diana
by Elizabeth Emanuel (4) Vogue was instrumental in introducing Lady Diana Spencer to young British designers. and fashion editors. Princess Diana stated `On the day we got engaged I literally had one long dress, one silk shirt, one smart pair of shoes and that was it....I asked Anna Harvey from Vogue, where both my sisters had worked, to come and help me out with the basic things', cf.`Diana Her True Story in Her Own Words' p.47. David and Elizabeth Emanuel in` A Dress for Diana', p.36 described how this blouse was used in the Vogue fashion shoot `this blouse was hanging up in our studio when we suddenly received the phone call from Vogue requesting something which had a high neck and was very romantic. It was only later that we discovered that the blouse had been worn by Lady Diana.The fashion team had assembled a large collection of clothes from several designers for her to try...When she saw our blouse on the rack she fell in love with it, asked who had made it and was directed to us. That was the beginning of our relationship with Diana. Fortuitously, the engagement between Prince Charles and Lady Diana was announced shortly after that shoot and the picture taken by Lord Snowdon was used as the engagement photograph.
The final calico toile for the royal wedding gown, which was worn by Princess Diana, 1981, labeled, the calico gown being an exact rendition of the gown later made in silk, with flounce to neck, central bow, flounced cuffs, trained skirt; together with two silk bodice toiles; pair of calico sleeve toiles; a single slimmer alternative sleeve toile; three further calico/muslin bodice toiles in sections; and the original brown paper pattern used for making the royal wedding gown; and a letter of authenticity signed by Elizabeth Emanuel, (qty) A toile is a dressmaker's equivalent of a working document. Numerous bodice changes had to be made as Diana continued to lose weight in the weeks preceding the wedding day which required new toiles to be made. The gown was only made up in silk at the last possible moment to ensure the most accurate fit - as there was a limited amount of the specially woven silk available.
A miniature copy of the royal wedding gown and bridesmaid's dresses, (given to Princess Diana by David & Elizabeth Emanuel in 1981), 1/8th scale made using off-cuts from the original bridal silk and lace, mounted onto miniature mannequins, the three bridesmaid dresses similar to those worn by India Hicks, Clementine Hambro and Lady Sarah Armstrong Jones, height of the bridal gown 46cm, 18in; together with a paper pattern for the miniature bridal gown, a silk toile bodice; a rough sketch of the petticoat and a Xerox of the wedding dress press embargo sketch.
The veils made for the Royal wedding, 1981, the veiling by John Heathcoat, the hand sequining by Lock & Co. comprising long shaped silk tulle veil with integral face veil covered with a shimmer of sequins, approx 8m20cm, 26.9 ft long plus integral face veil; together with four face veils in varying lengths, two with hand-sewn sequin spangles, the deepest face veil 84cm, 33in; an antique wax orange blossom headdress; and photographs of Princess Diana wearing her wedding veil on the day.
An album of press clippings, letters, relating mainly to the engagement blouse and the announcement that the Emanuel.s had received the Royal commission to make the bridal gown, thirty pages covered on both sides, including notes of congratulation from David Sassoon, George Mitchison for Norman Hartnell and others.
Three recent sketches by Elizabeth Emanuel, two of the Royal wedding gown, one dated 1981; and one of the black taffeta dress. |