Princess Diana’s Christina Stambolian dress, worn once in 1994 as Prince Charles admitted he had been unfaithful, goes to auction in New York on Dec. 9. Sotheby’s estimate is $150,000–$300,000; Briege Mackenzie, whose family bought it in 1997, is selling it.
At the Vanity Fair dinner at London’s Serpentine Gallery on June 29, 1994, Diana wore it as ITV aired Charles’s interview. Tina Brown’s biography says she had initially declined the invitation but changed her mind roughly two days beforehand after details of the interview circulated. Reports say she switched from a planned Valentino dress after the fashion house announced she would wear one. CNN reported it had sat in her closet for three years; designer Christina Stambolian said Diana considered it too daring to wear publicly. Diana’s photographs dominated next-day coverage; the look was quickly dubbed the “revenge dress.”
The Mackenzies paid £39,098 at a 1997 Christie’s charity auction of 79 of Diana’s dresses and later displayed the dress at Scottish charitable events. This is the first time it has been offered for sale since Diana’s death. Briege Mackenzie decided to sell after her husband died; part of the proceeds will go to a charity supporting Scotland’s public health system in the Edinburgh region on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. In 2023, two other Diana pieces sold for more than $1.1 million each: a Jacques Azagury dress for $1,148,080 and her “black sheep” sweater for $1,143,000.
