The “famous five” dresses designed by Jacques Azagury include the ‘Panorama’ gown worn after controversial interview
Princess Diana attends Swan Lake at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 3, 1997. Photo: Julian Parker/UK Press via Getty
Some of Princess Diana’s most iconic dresses are headed to America!
Five glamorous evening gowns, identical to the ones designed by Jacques Azagury and worn by Diana during her latter years, have been sold to a private collector in Los Angeles for an undisclosed sum.
“The whole collection means a lot to me, and the only reason I am selling them is because as of five weeks ago, I retired,” Azagury tells PEOPLE. “I really wanted people to keep enjoying these iconic dresses and ideally to keep the whole collection together.”
The dresses are “twins” of the originals worn by Princess Diana during her final years and include the iconic black halterneck dress she wore to a charity gala on the night that her controversial Panorama interview was broadcast in 1995.
Princess Diana wearing Jacques Azagury at a gala benefit to benefit victims of land mines in Washington on June 17, 1997.AP Photo/Karin Cooper
Barbra Streisand Reveals Girl Code Moment with ‘Wonderful’ Princess Diana in New Memoir
“She was always very excited by fashion, and she knew she would please so many people just waiting for her to come out in the next dress, whether they were waiting in the streets or watching her on the television,” recalls the Morrocan-born designer who has been in the fashion industry for nearly 40 years. “She took a long time making sure that everything was just right, choosing the right shoes and jewelry.”
Another iconic dress that forms part of the collection is the pale blue above-the-knee dress adorned in tiny crystal bugle beads that Princess Diana wore to a performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Albert Hall in June 1997.
“It was the time of the supermodel, and everyone was wearing shorter dresses and more body-conscious dresses,” says the designer, who recently shut his Knightsbridge boutique, where Diana and he would often meet.
Princess Diana attending a performance of Swan Lake at London’s Royal Albert Hall on June 3, 1997.
According to Azagury, she loved the short shift dress so much, that he decided to make a longer version “even more glamorous than the original” in black and gifted it to her on her 36th birthday, for which she thanked him with a personal note that is included in the auction lot.
That evening, she attended an event at the Tate Gallery in London wearing the stunning, sparkly dress. It turned out to be her final red carpet event before her tragic death in Paris.
3 of Princess Diana’s Gowns Sell at Auction for Approximately $1.62 Million
Princess Diana at the Tate Gallery’s 100 Year Anniversary Gala in London on July 1, 1997.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
“She was the only person I was really excited to meet, time after time. Every moment was so exciting to me and we had so much fun, ” says Azagury, who worked with Diana for 12 years, through a difficult marriage and her transition out of the royal family. “I never got any of the troubled Diana — whenever we were together, it was just joyous.”
“After the break-up of the marriage, she rediscovered herself and she turned into this unbelievably stunning woman — not that she wasn’t before, but that’s when her personality really started to shine,” he says from his London home. “She had everything; the most amazing legs, that great hair, those blue eyes.”
Princess Diana in a Jacques Azagury outfit at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice in 1995.Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty
While he is happy to share the dresses with the public, some of which come with sketches and personal handwritten notes from Princess Diana, the retired designer has held some sentimental items back for himself.
“One of the most precious things that I have is a framed picture that the princess sent me the morning she was leaving for France, from which she never returned,” he said.
Azagury arrived at his shop to find a member of her staff waiting with a parcel. “Inside was a framed picture of Diana wearing three of the famous five dresses, with a message saying; ‘To Jacques, lots of love Diana’ — that I will be keeping all for myself,” he said.
The dresses are soon to make the journey stateside, where they will be added to the growing collection of memorabilia curated by Renae Plant, founder of The Princess & The Platypus Foundation, who runs a 3D interactive online museum featuring over 1,800 pieces of historical items associated with Diana.
News
Romeo Beckham joins dad David at the Inter Miami vs. New York City match after ‘turning his back on Brentford FC to pursue fashion career’
Romeo Beckham joined his father David at the Inter Miami vs. New York City match on Saturday. The former Brentwood player, 22, cut a casual figure for the game as…
Rare Photo of Princess Diana Graces the Cover of Tatler — The Story Behind the Snap
The late Princess of Wales offered a slight smile in the shot by David Bailey Princess Diana at a banquet in Munich, Germany in 1987. Photo: Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana…
Princess Diana’s Personal Hairdresser Reveals the Reason Prince William Liked Childhood Haircuts
The late Princess of Wales’ longtime hairstylist also gave Prince William and Prince Harry their first haircuts Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace…
Sarah Ferguson Pens Tribute to ‘My Dear Friend’ Princess Diana on What Would Have Been Her 63rd Birthday
Fergie previously told PEOPLE that she and Diana would have a “Granny-Off” if the previous Princess of Wales were still alive Sarah Ferguson and Princess Diana attend…
Elizabeth Debicki Says Filming Princess Diana Paparazzi Scenes in The Crown Was Like ‘Being Underwater’ (Exclusive)
The star of ‘The Crown’ tells PEOPLE the season 6 script imagined Princess Diana as someone who “had been through the fires and come through stronger” Elizabeth…
All of Princess Diana’s PEOPLE Magazine Covers Through the Years
The late princess appeared on the cover of PEOPLE magazine more than anyone else in the world Princess Diana would have turned 62 on July 1, 2023. In…
End of content
No more pages to load