Diana at 60: How would the Princess of Wales have dressed in 2021?

(CNN) -- The late Princess Diana's wardrobe has been immortalized in books, exhibitions, Netflix series, tribute Vogue photo shoots and even a musical. From her fairytale wedding dress to the so-called "revenge dress" she wore after Prince Charles admitted her infidelity, the world witnessed her style transformation to become the "people's princess." Her style was very much her own," said Jack L. Carlson, whose Rowing Blazers brand recently launched a Diana-inspired clothing line. "She wasn't a fan of hers. On the contrary, she was doing her thing, and we were all watching her in amazement and trying to keep up with her."

There's still a lot of nostalgia surrounding the Princess of Wales style: in fact, when Carlson's brand reissued its iconic black sheepskin sweater last year, it sold "three months' worth of sweaters in an hour and a half" after it was sold. went viral on the Internet, he said.

But how would Diana have dressed if she were alive in 2021? And how could she have used her fondness for fashion tactfully, symbolically, and communicatively in this time of division?

On the occasion of what would have been Diana's 60th birthday, we take a look at the influences that marked her style and how they might have defined her current look.

A discreet diplomacy

The Princess of Wales was adept at using her wardrobe diplomatically. Whether she was choosing designers from the countries she visited or wearing colors and symbols associated with the national identities of the hosts, she used clothing as a sign of support and respect.

As Diana's former stylist, Anna Harvey, recalled in British Vogue magazine in 1997, shortly after the princess's death: "From the beginning she used clothes to make gestures; on her first visit to Wales she wore Welsh colours, a green and red silk suit; for her arrival in Japan she wore (Japanese designer Yuki Torimaru) and for a trip to Paris, Chanel".

During a visit to the Gulf region in 1986, she wore a dress adorned with golden falcons, one of Saudi Arabia's patriotic symbols. That same year, during her royal tour of Japan, she wore a red and white polka dot dress that seemed to reference the national flag.

Diana also gave a nod to the royal institution to which she belonged by marrying, such as when milliner Stephen Jones sewed the Prince of Wales's feathers into the traditional hat called the "Tam-o'shanter" that he wore to the annual Lands games. High in Braemar, Scotland.

Matthew Storey, curator of Kensington Palace's new exhibition "Royal Style in the Making," said by email that members of the royal family often "wear clothes that pay subtle homage to the culture of the country they visit." But Princess Diana continued to do so in the years after her split from Charles in the early 1990s (she opted to wear a traditional shalwar kameez on a visit to Pakistan in 1996, for example), and it seems likely she would have continued that. thoughtful approach to your work wardrobe.

As well as paying tribute to host countries, Princess Diana also used fashion to highlight the charities and institutions she admired, wearing her garments at polo matches or public events. She was "light years ahead of us, even then," Carlson said, pointing to the current trend of using merchandise to support organizations that people identify with.

"If anything, it taught us all to appreciate promotional products: from colleges you've never attended, from sports teams in other cities, and even from airlines you've never flown on," he said, referring to the times he Diana paired a Northwestern University or Virgin Atlantic sweater with cycling shorts.

It is impossible to know what causes Diana would have adhered to today. But given that she was a lifelong advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness, it's possible that the various capsule collections launched for World AIDS Day, by brands ranging from Maison Margiela to Victoria Beckham's eponymous brand, would have called his attention.

But Diana's style statements weren't always so literal. Fashion researcher Eloise Moran, who founded the Lady Di Revenge Looks Instagram account, likened the princess's wardrobe to "armor." As well as defending her from her attacks, her clothes helped him regain control of her narrative, both from the palace and from the British press, following her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996.

"She eventually became a really strong figure," Moran said in a video interview. "I think people were afraid of her, and what she might do after her."

Her defiant attitude of hers would certainly have resonance in today's world. It might even have influenced the way high-profile women often use their closets to protect themselves and make covert political statements, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling her red lipstick "war paint" to the prime minister's decision. of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, wearing a traditional Maori feather cape to Buckingham Palace.

A more international wardrobe

In her early years, Diana favored British designers, often turning the fortunes of those whose clothes were photographed. "She wanted to dress in British clothing because she felt it was a positive thing she could do for the fashion industry," her stylist Harvey wrote of her in her 1997 Vogue tribute.

For example, the aforementioned sheep sweater, which went viral long before the Internet age, the one black sheep of it seemed to signal Diana's status as an outsider in the royal family. Carlson, who collaborated with the garment's original creator, Warm & Wonderful, on last year's reissue, said the ad "changed the lives" of designers Joanna Osborne and Sally Muir. The couple was able to open a store, she said, and her designs are also sold in department stores from New York to Japan.

"Members of the royal family know that the clothes they're wearing are likely to be in the news, and they're going to sell out immediately," Morgane Le Caer, content lead at fashion search platform Lyst, said in an email interview. It's a trend continued by Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton, Le Caer said, adding that the next generation of royal couples have "become powerful influencers in her own way".

Both Moran and Carlson speculated that, if Princess Diana were alive today, she might have revisited her knitwear days (a period summed up by her Gyles & George sweater that read "I'm a luxury no one can afford." "). Moran said, "Perhaps it would pay homage to her youthful affinity for tongue-in-cheek knitwear."

"I think she would have loved the Magda Archer x Marc Jacobs (collaboration), in particular the 'Stay Away From Toxic People' sweater," she added, referring to an item of clothing worn by celebrities like Harry Styles.

Diana was faithful to the UK designers she worked with throughout her life. Although some of her apparent favourites, such as Catherine Walker, have since passed away, others, such as Bruce Oldfield, are still active today, and it is possible that the late princess was still looking for her designs.

But at the end of her life, Diana was experimenting more with international brands. As her fame grew, she became close with designers such as Gianni Versace, whose funeral she attended, and Christian Dior, who in 1996 renamed a bag she loved, and which she owned in every color, as "Lady Dior". Versace, in particular, helped Diana develop a more daring wardrobe when she became a global charity ambassador, designing first lady-esque minidresses and pink skirt suits, which she paired with Phillip's pillbox hats. Somerville.

"She was a real chameleon, and she liked to mix things up, both high-end and low-key designers," Moran said. "I know she would still be like this if she were alive today."

But, Carlson added, she would have spread her net. "I don't imagine her tied to one designer or another," she said.

revenge and joy

The last years of Princess Diana's life were characterized by playful and fashionable experimentation, as she stepped out of the shadow of the palace. For Moran, who created the Lady Di Revenge Looks account after her own breakup, Princess Diana was a "female figure" whose transformation of her after her breakup inspired him.

According to Moran, the newly empowered Princess Diana traded in her court shoes for "super tall Jimmy Choos and Chanels," which would have made her stand out from her ex-husband, who was about the same height. . Designer Roland Klein once told British Vogue magazine that, in one of his last meetings with Diana, he asked her for a "very short" dress. "I resisted," he recalled, "but she said, 'Whatever I do, I'm going to get criticized, so let's do it.'"

By then, Diana had found silhouettes and designers that worked for her, Moran said.

"I think she already had her look figured out when she was 35 (or) 36, so I don't see her dressing that differently," she explained, suggesting that Diana's wardrobe staples ("blazers, Giorgio Armani, Versace and Dior bags") would probably still work for her today. "You could also easily see her drawing on the sinuous, minimalist silhouettes of The Row," Moran added.

In Princess Diana's case, the only outfit that seemed to mark her release was her black Christina Stambolian "revenge dress," the asymmetrical, figure-hugging minidress she wore to an event in London on the day Prince Charles publicly admitted that he had had an affair.

"She completely spun her narrative that night," Moran said. "From there, I think the line was drawn where she was in control, and she showed it to everyone. You can really make people fear you, or feel intimidated by you, or respect you, or whatever, through the clothes."

Although Princess Diana was known for reusing her outfits, it is unlikely that she would re-wear her most iconic clothing and accessories if she were alive. Famously, months before her death, she purged her closet and auctioned off many of her most iconic garments, including the Stambolian dress and a blue velvet dress by Victor Edelstein that she had worn when she danced with John Travolta in the White House to raise funds for HIV/AIDS charities.

The sale was symbolic in many ways. In making a hole in the closet for what would have been the next chapter of hers, Diana seemed to leave palace life and marriage behind. And it's possible that she further distanced herself from the royal family through fashion, something that was already happening before her death, according to her former stylist Harvey, who wrote that the princess deliberately avoided brands worn by the royal family. her ex-husband

"I don't think she dressed like the other royals," Carlson said. "And I think that instead of following anyone's fashion or expectations, she would have dressed in a way that reflected her own life, her own experiences, her own feelings and her own comfort."