Princess Diana’s Dresses Hit Auction Block
Kate Middleton isn’t the only princess with a seriously covetable closet.
In the royal fashion department, the Duchess has to live up to the late Princess Diana, whose collection of dresses is slated to hit the auction block at Waddington’s in Canada—and bring in a serious chunk of change.
According to ABC News, Florida businesswoman Maureen Rorech Dunkel bought the dresses—14 in all, by the likes of Zandra Rhodes, Catherine Walker, Victor Edelstein, and more—at a Christie’s auction two months before Diana’s death in 1997, and is selling them after filing for bankruptcy last year.
“When I originally purchased a collection of royal dresses once belonging to the late Diana, Princess of Wales at the 1997 Christie's charity auction I did so strictly with the eye of an investor,” Dunkel says in the collection’s catalog, explaining that her selection was meant to show the transformation of Diana’s style “from frilly, almost fantasy looking pieces to sexy, streamlined creations.”
In the frilly camp, there’s a pink embroidered ball gown with matching bolero by Catherine Walker, which has an estimated value of between $375,000 and $425,000. In the sexy and streamlined camp, there’s Victor Edelstein’s navy velvet off-the-shoulder gown (estimated value: a whopping $800,000 to $1 million)—the dress she famously wore to dance with John Travolta at a 1985 White House State Dinner hosted by Ronald and Nancy Regan.
Photos courtesy of Waddington's
Portrait of a lady: Princess Diana in two of the dresses that will be at auction
There are also three dresses worn by Diana for Mario Testino-shot portraits for Vanity Fair, as well as a dress she wore for one of her official portraits.
The expected earnings of the 14 dresses? "Based on the appraisal completed, and the auction estimates, the final outcome could be in the range of $4 to $6 million," Vince Ciarlo, a spokesperson for the auction house, told FashionEtc.
Photo courtesy of Waddington's
Princess Diana dancing with John Travolta in 1985—her navy dress is up for auction.
In other auction news, see which Marilyn Monroe dress just fetched $5.6 million.
