Smart money: Diana wears her iconic dress in 1994
Costumes worn in The Crown go under the hammer at Bonhams next month – with a highlight being a copy of Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ valued at £12,000 and worn by actress Elizabeth Debicki who plays the role in the Netflix TV series.
Interest in celebrity couture is soaring as investors realise they not only capture a high fashion moment in the life of an iconic star but can also be linked to an historic event.
The real ‘revenge dress’ – which is worth perhaps at least ten times the value of the copy – was a black cocktail dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian. It was worn by Diana at a Vanity Fair fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994 – on the day Prince Charles admitted to an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in a BBC television interview.
In 1997, it was bought at a charity auction in New York for $60,000 by Scottish collectors Graeme and Briege Mackenzie to raise funds for their children’s charity, Children 1st. Kerry Taylor, founder of fashion auction house Kerry Taylor Auctions, says: ‘There were only two of these dresses ever made to exactly the same specifications by the designer – the one featured in The Crown is only a copy of these.
‘We sold the other Christina Stambolian that Diana did not wear for £18,000 in 2011. The market has exploded since then as interest in collecting celebrity clothes is soaring. It would have been a shrewd investment and that dress might even fetch six figures now.’
Another indication of how prices are on the rise can be seen from the pale pink crepe blouse with ruffle collar by British design duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel worn by Diana for her official 1981 engagement photo. It sold for £27,000 in 2010 and last month fetched £300,000.
Taylor also points to a dress that made for one of the most memorable and fun photographs of 1985, when Diana wore an off-the-shoulder midnight blue velvet gown for a night at the White House where Hollywood star John Travolta led her onto the dance floor for a twirl in front of delighted guests.
The dress from British designer Victor Edelstein sold for £220,000 in 2019. Today, says Taylor, that dress might fetch up to a million pounds. She adds: ‘A key part of Diana’s appeal is not just that she was royalty and died tragically young – but also that she wore fabulous couture. She shares this global appeal with iconic film stars who also have highly collectable wardrobes that may continue to soar in value.’
A Christian Dior dress worn by Elizabeth Taylor in 1961 when she won an Oscar for the film Butterfield 8 sold for £200,000 last month at Kerry Taylor Auctions. The same auctioneer sold a black Givenchy cocktail dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1966 film How To Steal A Million for £50,000 just 15 years ago. The auction house says this garment could now fetch £200,000.
You don’t need super-deep pockets to fall for a costume investment. An Elizabeth Taylor 1960s Christian Dior coat sold for £2,000 last month while a 1968 Ben Zuckerman outfit that Taylor once wore went for £600. In the same sale, a 2021 Vivienne Westwood ballgown worn by Brooke Shields in Netflix movie A Castle For Christmas was purchased for £4,200.
Although celebrity fashion is increasingly being appreciated as collectable pieces of history, experts believe they should not be seen as a practical garment. Rather they should be cherished as an investment work of art or museum piece.
Adrian Roose, founder of trading website Memorabilia Club, says: ‘Royalty and Hollywood stars are a particularly strong area for clothing as they have die-hard fan bases that cross generations. But other iconic figures – from politicians to pop stars – are also worth considering. You can still find relative bargains if you are willing to scour provincial auction houses and consider something unusual.’
Followers of fashion: Elizabeth Debicki (right) wears the £12,000 copy in The Crown, and Audrey Hepburn in the 1966 film How To Steal A Million
Details of regional auctions can be found in the industry magazine Antiques Trade Gazette that lists hundreds of sale events across the country in a calendar.
In March last year, auction house Halls, in Shrewsbury, sold a grey Chaumet evening bag once owned by Margaret Thatcher for £7,000. Its estimate was £6,000. The former Conservative Prime Minister described her handbags as ‘her weapon’ and said they were the only ‘leak proof’ place for information in Downing Street.
An Asprey bag seen in photographs as Mrs Thatcher walked and talked with US President Ronald Reagan in a 1985 visit to the White House sold for £25,000 in 2012. Clothing from another political icon – former Speaker Baroness Betty Boothroyd – will be sold at Special Auction Services in Newbury on January 23. Garments include a couture silk silver chequered and green ballgown with an estimated price of up to £200 while her gold and diamond House of Commons brooch comes with an estimate of £2,000.
A collection of Queen Victoria’s underwear sold at Hansons Auctioneers in 2020 for a total of £16,570. A pair of bloomers fetched £650. Last September, Sotheby’s held a Freddie Mercury sale that included one of his famous on-stage accessories – a crown and red cloak. They went under the hammer for ten times their estimate at £635,000. A snake bangle worn in Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody video went for £698,500 – smashing a £9,000 estimate.
Roose says: ‘One of the key reasons the Freddie Mercury sale did so well was not only that he was such an important musician but the provenance was watertight. The clothing had previously been owned by his former fiancee Mary Austin.’
He adds: ‘Provenance is everything when buying. I sold a pair of Michael Jackson dance shoes worn at a Budapest concert for £5,500 four years ago. It included a detailed letter of their history and ownership from the tour manager. Without this guarantee the buyer would just be picking up a pair of black brogues.’
Kerry Taylor adds: ‘Treat clothing like fine vintage wine as it is an investment worth cherishing.’
