Princess Diana’s Iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ Set to Be Auctioned

Fri Sep 11 2026 10:45:46 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The black silk dress that made headlines in 1994 will sell at Sotheby's, aiming for up to $300,000 (£220,000).

Princess Diana’s dramatic black silk dress, worn to a charitable gala at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994, has earned the nickname “revenge dress” after the Prince of Wales publicly admitted adultery on television. Sotheby's is putting the garment up for auction on 9 December, estimating a sale price of up to $300,000. The dress previously belonged to the royal’s private collection and was first sold at auction in 1997. The garment’s sale follows other high‑profile sales of Diana’s items, including a sweater that fetched over $1 million. Fashion experts note that the dress symbolised Diana’s reclaiming of her narrative during a turbulent period.

Princess Diana’s Iconic ‘Revenge Dress’ Set to Be Auctioned

A black silk evening dress worn by Princess Diana at a fundraising dinner at the Serpentine Gallery in London — just hours after the Prince of Wales admitted adultery on national television — will be sold by Sotheby’s on 9 December. The outfit, custom‑made by Greek designer Christina Stambolian, has earned the nickname “revenge dress.”

Sotheby’s estimates the dress could fetch up to US$300,000 (£220,000). A press release notes that this is the first auction appearance of the garment since the princess sold 79 of her dresses for charity in 1997.

Morgane Halimi, Sotheby’s Global Head of Handbags and Fashion, explains:

"Princess Diana understood instinctively that fashion can be a language in its own right. She walked into a moment in which so much of her story was being told for her. Through what she chose to wear, she reclaimed the narrative for herself," Halimi said.

Former stylist Anna Harvey reports that Diana wanted to look “a million dollars” and made a last‑minute wardrobe change for the event, opting for the strapless evening dress accompanied by a royal jewel, a black clutch, and matching heels.

The “revenge dress” will be auctioned together with a 2008‐era Jaguar XJ40 car that Diana used to arrive at the same event; the car sold earlier this year for £66,250.

Diana’s wardrobe has yielded other significant sales: a sweater featuring a black sheep fetched £920,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York in 2023.

Read about the high‑selling sweater

The auction will take place during a period that has seen renewed public interest in Diana’s legacy, as her legacy watchers and collectors alike speculate on the market value of iconic royal memorabilia.