Princess Diana wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel interview: Princess Diana Julien’s Auctions; Elizabeth Emanuel on creating Diana’s wedding gown and making history | Exclusive

It was a black dress that caused a media sensation and propelled a young Lady Diana Spencer into the global spotlight: a strapless, taffeta gown that no-one expected a future queen of England to wear for her very first royal engagement.

Designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who went on to create many looks for the royal including her iconic wedding gown months later, the dress instantly changed the way Diana was viewed by the world.

“From that moment on, she became a fashion icon,” Elizabeth Emanuel told 9honey, from London.

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It was Diana’s first official outing with her fiancé, then-Prince Charles, after their intention to marry was made public by Buckingham Palace.

The couple were the guests of honour at Goldsmiths’ Hall on March 9, 1981, just months before the royal wedding.

Monaco’s Princess Grace was there too, later telling Diana of the intense media attention: “Don’t worry…It will only get worse”.

Emanuel told 9honey of the strapless black dress: “It was such a new look for her, David and I thought ‘wow, she just looks so fantastic’ it’s such a contrast.

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“People were so surprised to see her looking like a Hollywood goddess, very sexy, like a grown up woman, fantastic and not a little girl anymore.”

Prior to that night Diana had been mainly photographed wearing more demure-style outfits.

“If you look at the pictures of the clothes we designed for Diana before the royal wedding it was a lot of romantic things made in tulle with ruffles and frills, very soft, romantic and and young looking.”

That black gown, Emanuel explained, “was start of a new period in her style journey”.

“It was a very exciting time.”

But Diana almost wore another gown that night, which is now going to auction in the biggest ever sale of clothing and accessories worn by the late Princess of Wales.

Princess Diana’s Style & A Royal Collection auction will take place at the Peninsula Beverly Hills on June 26, hosted by Julien’s Auctions.

The collection includes gowns, hats, shoes and handbags worn by Diana with many of the items never offered at auction before.

There are original sketches of designs with fabric swatches, photos, handwritten notes and wedding memorabilia.

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The auction will also include couture garments from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, historic items belonging to Queen Elizabeth II the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret and royal treasures dating as far back as the 19th Century.

A selection of the items recently went on show at a special preview viewing inside The Peninsula in London, ahead of the main event, where Emanuel spoke to 9honey.

On show was the so-called ‘sister-dress’, a black sequin-embellished silk taffeta evening gown designed by Emanuel that was tried on during a fitting by Diana.

It was an option for the soon-to-be princess to wear to the event at Goldsmiths’ Hall.

“I just remember when she came in to try it on, it was her first official engagement with Prince Charles, it was very important,” Emanuel explained.

“And her going through the dresses and trying them all on and us stepping back and looking.

“Those were early days. She was really starting to get into the idea, [and was] quite excited, about what wearing clothes could do.

“It’s like a language, you can express what you are feeling and how confident you are through what you are wearing.”

That ‘sister dress’ has a sale estimate of between US $20,000 – $40,000 (approx. $30,000 – $61,000).

Ultimately, Diana chose the strapless black gown instead of the long-sleeved ‘sister dress’.

“It was very exciting, especially seeing her standing there in that dress and then all the pictures that were taken on the night, it just took off, it exploded,” Emanuel said.

In a newsreel from the next day, a reporter said of the future Princess of Wales: “The palace did not know in advance of the dress she chose to wear…by normal royal standards, it was fairly revealing”.

Royal photographer for The Mirror at the time Kent Gavin – who went on to cover Diana throughout her royal career – told a documentary in 2021: “When she came out in that black dress, cleavage and everything [nearly] falling out everywhere, she was, she looked sensational”.

“I think she would have known she was going to get a lot of attention [but] I don’t think she realised how low that dress was until she saw the stills the next day. The royal family – haven’t seen them like that very often.”

Reflecting on that night, Emanuel said: “The press went mad. Front page of all the newspapers was Diana in that black dress. And that’s why the sister dress is so important as it reminds me of that time.”

But Prince Charles was unhappy with his fiancée choosing to wear black, because the colour is traditionally worn by royals only when in mourning.

“That was our mistake about the colour,” Emanuel said.

“We thought she looked fantastic in black, very sophisticated and grown up. We didn’t know about the protocol then about black just being in mourning.

“We were just innocent, quite young designers. We didn’t know all the rules then. And neither did Diana, to be honest.”

The sister dress was “a connection” to Diana’s fashion story as design elements she loved were incorporated into another dress worn to a pre-wedding ball and the gown Diana wore when she married Charles.

“That’s why for me it’s very significant,” Emanuel said.

“Even though she didn’t wear [the sister dress], it was part of that whole story, for me that’s what makes it a very important part of history.”

An design sketch of Princess Diana’s wedding dress, including tulle fabric cut-offs from the gown and veil with hand-sewn embellishments, is one of the items going to auction.

So, too, is an illustration and fabric sample of the pink gown Diana wore to a gala two days before the wedding.

A sketch of the spare wedding dress Emanuel created for Diana is also among the auction items.

“I got paranoid and thought that the wedding dress might get stolen or catch on fire before the big day,” Emanuel said, of her decision to create a back-up gown.

In that illustration, the gown features the romantic ruffle neckline of the sister dress but differs from the gown Diana wore on her wedding with fitted sleeves, scallop details, and white fabric.

Diana’s wedding dress was made of ivory taffeta.

The Emanuels were chosen by Diana to design and make her wedding gown after she wore a blouse by the then-husband and wife team for a Vogue photoshoot, which coincided with the palace’s announcement of her engagement.

“We met Diana at a very interesting time,” Emanuel said of the then-19-year-old.

“She came into the studio and she really had no experience with fashion, no interest in clothes or anything. We were there at that very important stage when she was developing her own style.”

Preparations for the royal wedding, on July 29 1981, saw Diana attend many fittings with the Emanuels.

“When she came into our showroom we never talked about anything personal to her. It was kind of an oasis, a sanctuary.”

No photos of Diana in any of those fittings exit because ”we would never have dreamt of doing that and invading her privacy”.

The wedding gown catapulted the Emanuels into the global spotlight.

Held at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, the wedding that drew a global television audience of more than 750 million people.

“It was such a wonderful story, just meeting her, having known Diana – it changed our lives completely. If we hadn’t met her, I don’t know what our lives would have been like.”

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It also was the beginning of a professional relationship between Diana and the Emanuels, who went on to create “about 15” outfits for the princess.

The exact number is unknow, Emanuel said.

“It’s hard to tell because in that period of time, there was no internet, no Google, no social media. I’ve got my sketches. [But] we don’t know really, I would love to see photos of her wearing all the stuff.”

Princess Diana was “a really, really good customer”, she said.

“From the very beginning when we first met her, she was very patient and very good with our seamstresses, she was very friendly and lovely to everybody and she was just a very easy person to dress.

“And as she began losing weight she became like a model. She was fantastic.”

As Diana’s star power grew, so did her confidence in what she wore throughout her royal career and after her separation and divorce.

“Through the years you could see her building confidence in what she was wearing and her own very spectacular style,” Emanuel said.

“But we were there right at the beginning which is something I am really thankful [for].

“I hope we helped to guide her.”

Nearly 30 years after her tragic death, Princess Diana remains a fashion icon and anything connected to her is highly sought after, often selling well above expectations.

The Julien’s sale is likely to see items with a connection to the princess sell for millions, with interest coming from around the world.

“It’s 2025 and we’re still talking about Diana,” Martin Nolan, co-founder and executive director of Julien’s Auctions, told 9honey.

“She’s still relevant, she’s still loved, she’s still relatable. These items represent her legacy and they speak to who she was as a person.”

They include the 1988 Bellville Sassoon floral day frock, widely known as Diana’s “caring dress” because she often wore it at engagements involving children.

It is expected to sell for between US $100,000 – $200,000 (approx. $155,000 – $310,000).

Among the other items of clothing up for grabs is a Bruce Oldfield two-piece yellow and floral-patterned silk ensemble, worn by Diana on June 17, 1987, at Royal Ascot. Its estimate is between US $100,000 – $200,000 (approx. $155,000 – $310,000).

A magenta nylon ski-suit belonging to Diana is expected to sell for US $30,000 – $50,000 (approx. $46,000 – $77,000).

A Lady Dior handbag, worn by Diana many times, is expected to be one of the highest-selling items in the sale, with a guide of US $20,000 – $30,000 (approx. $30,000 – $46,000).

Emanuel said: “People still love her because she was such an extraordinary person”.

“They want a little bit of that magic, this charisma, this purity that she had in her.

“She was such a special person – what other person can you think of that was like Diana, really? She was completely unique, a one off. 

“Everything she has touched, that she has been apart of, people want to feel a part of it, almost like a saint. That’s the Diana effect.”

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