Lady Di and a style that endures. Princess Diana wore many different coats, her style changing in shape as she went from young bride to mother to empowered divorcee, and we're seeing them all this year. Following the biopic Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart in a Chanel outfit, and the Broadway version of >Diana: The Musical, at the end of 2022 we will see Elizabeth Debicki play Diana in the fifth season of The Crown. Each project represents a new opportunity to interpret your style, includings the iconic looks that have been echoed on recent runways. Almost a quarter of a century after her death, why are we still trying to dress like the Queen of Hearts?
Of course, those who were there remember and relate to Diana's endearing personality and her private struggles, but her style also influences a younger generation that he may not have direct memories of her.
That may have a lot to do with duchesses Kate and Meghan: since royal observers today are fascinated by both their evening gowns and day-to-day looks, it's natural that his interest should extend to his shared fashion predecessor. (Both have paid homage to Diana through their wardrobes: Kate's engagement ring once belonged to her mother-in-law, and she's worn collared dresses and polka dot pieces that pay direct homage to Diana.Meghan has been photographed wearing a Cartier watch once owned by Diana, and during a visit to New York, she wore the Dior Lady D-Lite, a handbag so associated with Lady Di that it was renamed in her honour).
Eloise Moran, who was just a child when Diana died in 1997, has been documenting Di's post-divorce appearance since 2018 through her Instagram account @ladydirevengelooks,< /b> and is also the author of the upcoming book Lady Diana's Look Book: What Diana Was Trying to Tell Us Through Her Clothes. Her posts feature vintage shots of Diana at a later (and freer) stage in her life, when she opted for cycling shorts with oversized hoodies, varsity jackets and tapered-shouldered blazers. These looks feel extremely contemporary.
Moran opened her account after watching a Netflix documentary about Diana. In her late twenties and sad after a recent divorce, she was amazed at how much she related to a woman she had never given much thought to. “I was amazed at how connected I felt to her and her story. All those things that she went through and she got married so young,” she told Elle magazine. “I started digging and found photos I hadn't seen before. At that time, on Instagram, nobody was posting about Princess Diana that much. He wasn't having his moment the way he has been in recent years. I came across this set of 90s looks and thought, 'God, these are amazing.'”
The fact that Diana's image inspired television, film, theater and fashion today comes as no surprise to Moran. “She was the most marketable person there was and I think that's still true to this day,” she asserted. “Whether it's Netflix or Gucci - which recently reissued the 'Gucci Diana' capsule of princess-loved bamboo-handle bags - I think all of these brands have really latched on to that. Brands, media networks and podcast networks, everyone wants a piece of Diana.”
The Pablo Larraín film Spencer follows Diana during a three-day Christmas vacation in the early 1990s, as she neared her separation from Prince Charles. As she reviewed thousands of images to prepare for her work on the film, costume designer Jacqueline Durran was able to understand her style trajectory.
“There were much more exciting things going on in 1980s fashion than the things she wore,” she told the fashion magazine. “When she started in the early 80s, I really had no idea what her potential was in fashion, because everything was so new and she was so young. She found that out as she got older“ . Looking closely at the images helped Durran determine a pattern for Diana's wardrobe choices. “There is something they say about the royal family: it is part of their job or public personality to stand out so that people can see them clearly in the crowd,” he said. And he added: “There is a performative element in what they wear.”
For the first scene of Stewart, Durran dressed her in a checked jacket, patterned after one of many she wore Diana at the time, which would look right at home in a street style photo of today. “Using it at the beginning of the movie lets the audience know what you are going to do. We haven't exactly replicated one in particular, but we've done something in tune with her style,” , she noted. “Kristen's Diana is Kristen's version of Diana. Nothing is exactly recreated, and it's not a documentary. It's all about setting the mood, which is really what fashion re-enactments are doing as well. They're just capturing the aura.”
Brands like Off-White and Tory Burch have launched their own Diana-inspired collections. And last fall, cult label Rowing Blazers took a more literal approach and reissued two of Diana's best-known sweaters in collaboration with the designers who originally produced them decades ago. b> One was her favorite “black sheep” design, created by Warm & Wonderful. Lanvin, See By Chloé and others have published their own versions of the style.
The launch of the collaboration Warm & Wonderful x Rowing Blazers coincided with the sweater's appearance on The Crown season four, and the response was immediate. Rowing Blazers founder and CEO Jack Carlson had long held an image of the Warm & Wonderful original in his moodboard; he remembered his mother wearing the style when he was a child.
“It has been copied by so many different brands. I didn't want to do that, and I was aware thatthe reality hadn't been done since the early 90's”, acknowledged the designer. “It's such a fun design. It's whimsical, irreverent, a little bit cottagecore... It evokes a different era, but somehow it feels very relevant today. People have gone crazy over it.”
Diana's renaissance has had tangible benefit for the companies that partnered with Rowing Blazers. Both Warm & Wonderful as Gyles & George, the brand behind a Diana sweater emblazoned with the phrase “I'm a Luxury”, which was relaunched last year with Rowing Blazers, are reviving their businesses as a direct result of a new interest in collaborations. The creators of Warm & Wonderful, Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne, who launched their business from a stall in Covent Garden, now sell their wares through a new e-commerce site and a Christmas pop-up shop in London, their first store since the 1990s.
While many highlight the signature elements of the '80s and '90s in her wardrobe, Carlson believes that Diana's style is way ahead of her time. “As an inspiration or as a muse, I think it cuts across genres and across timelines,” she remarked. “She was making streetwear before it existed. She was even blurring the lines between menswear and womenswear. She wore sportswear with non-sportswear.
The current cultural moment, steeped in nostalgia for the '80s and '90s, could be particularly primed for Diana's influence. But Moran believes the multitude of roles she played in her life gives her an enduring and near-universal appeal. “There is a different Diana for everyone. If you think about Diana's life in terms of being in the public eye, it was 17 years, which isn't that long. But think about all the metamorphoses she went through. Every two years, it changed direction”, concluded the style expert.
Diana Spencer was a true princess of style and elegance. she she knew how to conquer everyone with her warmth and charisma, but also with her refined and simple style, which captivated everyone's eyes. Without a doubt, it marked a before and after and became a fashionista icon.
Photos: Getty Images
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