Hunt for mystery buyer who snapped up Princess Diana’s ballerina-length velvet evening dress for record-breaking £904,000 at auction – making it the most expensive item of her clothing to be sold

• A gown worn by Princess Diana in Italy in 1985 broke a new fashion record
• Read More: Diana’s iconic engagement blouse is up sale at auction 

The hunt is on for a mystery Princess Diana superfan after a dress she wore in 1985 broke fashion records to sell for almost £1million at auction.

The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress sold at Julien’s Auctions in Hollywood for eleven times its estimated price, having been tipped to sell for $100,000.

Fans of the late Princess last weekend battled it out to unforeseen heights, with the winner splashing out $1.148million (£904,262). 

The gown, complete with shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large blue bow, and a sash – is now the new record holder as the most expensive dress worn by Diana sold at auction.

The previous record holder, a 1991 velvet gown by Victor Edelstein, fetched $604,800 (£476,437) at an auction in January. 

Diana initially donned the frock in Italy in 1985 whilst on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales, (pictured) and again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986

Princess Diana and the then-Prince Charles in Florence at a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in Italy in 1985

Diana first wore the dress at a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in Italy in 1985 whilst on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales. She also donned it again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986. 

The identity of the buyer of the Jacques Azagury gown is unknown – prompting speculation as to who Diana’s mega-fan might be.

The collector’s item was constructed with fabric chosen by world-renowned textile merchant Jakob Schlaepher and features blue metallic embroidered stars carefully threaded by the design team.

The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance.

Auctioneers described the outfit as a ‘beautiful, romantic ballerina-length evening dress’.

The catalogue continued: ‘With padded shoulder pads features a black velvet bodice with embroidered stars in metallic thread made from Jakob Schlaepfer fabric with a two-tier royal blue organza skirt with a sash and bow. 

‘Diana would wear numerous dresses and gowns by Azagury, one of her favourites was an ice blue silk georgette minidress worn 3 June 1997 to Royal Albert Hall for a performance of Swan Lake.’

There were 19 bids on the dress, with all proceeds from the sale to go the the NEw York Historical Society.

The identity of the buyer of the Jacques Azagury gown is unknown – prompting speculation as to who Diana’s mega-fan might be

A gown worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1985 broke a new fashion record, going under the hammer in Hollywood for 11 times its estimated price

The bodice of the dress features carefully-embroidered blue metallic stars

The black, ballerina-length velvet evening dress sold at Julien’s Auctions for a grand total of 1,148,080 US dollars (£904,262)

The ballerina skirt was considered a nod to her patronage of the English National Ballet and her love of dance

The pink crepe blouse features a ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front, worn by Diana, and was captured on film by royal photographer Lord Snowdon

Diana went on to wear several Jacques Azagury pieces during her time with the royal family, after the Moroccan-British fashion designer was introduced to her by Anna Harvey, the fashion editor of British Vogue.

READ MORE: Princess Diana’s ballerina-length velvet evening dress sells for $1.1million

Also on sale at the Julien’s Auctions and TCM Present: Hollywood Legends event was a blouse worn by Diana for her engagement portrait in 1981.

The pink crepe blouse features a ruff-like collar and loose pleats to the front, and was captured on film by royal photographer Lord Snowdon.

The blouse is attributed to designers David and Elizabeth Emmanuel, who later created her wedding dress for her 1981 nuptials to Charles. 

It sold for $381,000 (£300,990), nearly four times its original estimate of $80,000. 

Hollywood stars’ clothes also up for auction included a Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1963 comedy Charade.

Elsewhere a sleeveless gown worn by Gloria Swanson in the 1950 noir film Sunset Boulevard and Barbra Streisand’s sailor dress from a 1960s special called My Name Is Barbra.

Most expensive clothes owned by Princess Diana to be sold at auction

Ballerina evening dress – $1.148million

The dress sold for a record-breaking £904,000 at an auction in New York

Princess Diana’s black, ballerina-length evening dress complete with a blue skirt and bow sold for a record-breaking $1.148million at an auction in New York on Sunday. 

Diana first wore the dress at a dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence in Italy in 1985 whilst on a royal tour with her then-husband Charles, Prince of Wales. She also donned it again to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986. 

Sheep jumper – $1.143million

The Princess was first seen wearing the red and white sweater when she was 19 years old

Diana’s iconic sheep jumper was thrown off the top spot by this week’s sale, after going under the hammer for $1.143million in September 2023. 

The Princess was first seen wearing the red and white sweater when she was 19 years old at one of King Charles’ polo matches, just one month before their marriage.

In the final moments of the auction bids shot up from $200,000 to reach more than $1.1million. 

Victor Edelstein ball gown – $604,800

The iconic gown was immortalised in an official portrait of the princess in 1991

The aubergine-coloured sleeveless ball gown worn by Princess Diana in an official portrait taken by Lord Snowdon in 1991 sold in January 2023 for $604,800.

The gown, made from silk velvet, features a tulip-shaped stiffened skirt, augmented by three paste buttons at the back.

Engagement portrait blouse – $381,000

The pink crepe blouse was worn in an engagement portrait

The pink crepe blouse which also went under the hammer in New York over the weekend became the fourth-most expensive item of clothing worn by Diana to ever go under the hammer.

It was famously worn for an official engagement portrait of the princess and the then-Prince of Wales King Charles. 

John Travolta gown – $290,000 

Princess Diana famously danced with John Travolta at the White House in 1985

Princess Diana’s blue velvet gown, which she wore to dance with actor John Travolta at the White House, sold in 2019 for $290,000.

Diana wore the midnight-blue, off-the-shoulder, velvet gown by Victor Edelstein when she danced with Hollywood actor John Travolta during a state banquet at the White House given by US President Ronald Reagan in 1985.

The dress was previously sold at auction in 2013 for £240,000 and bought by an anonymous bidder who said he wanted to surprise his wife. 

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