Princess Diana's 'revenge dress' is touring four cities before a rare New York sale
Princess Diana's famous 'revenge dress' will be auctioned in New York on December 9 after a four city exhibition tour.
One of Princess Diana's most famous fashion moments is heading back into the spotlight. The black silk gown later nicknamed the "revenge dress" will be sold by Sotheby's in New York on December 9, marking its first auction appearance in nearly 30 years.
The dress will be offered during Sotheby's Luxury Week sale series, with an estimate of $150,000 to $300,000. Before the live sale, it is due to go on display in London, Hong Kong, Geneva and New York, giving royal fans, fashion followers and potential bidders a chance to see it up close.
A portion of the sale proceeds is set to go to NHS Lothian Charity on behalf of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The gown is being sold by Briege Mackenzie, who bought it with her late husband, Graeme Mackenzie, for about $64,000 and later used it to help raise money for charities in Scotland.
Why this gown still gets talked about
The dress became part of royal history on June 29, 1994. On the same day Diana's then estranged husband, Charles, admitted infidelity in a television documentary, Diana attended a party at the Serpentine Gallery in London wearing the black off the shoulder gown.
She had reportedly intended to wear another dress, but chose this one instead. Designed by Christina Stambolian three years earlier, it had stayed in Diana's wardrobe until that night. Its look included an asymmetrical hem, a pleated bodice and a side train. Diana finished the outfit with Manolo Blahnik heels, a pearl and sapphire choker and a Salvatore Ferragamo clutch.
Sotheby's says the dress showed how instinctively Diana understood the power of clothes, using fashion to send a message without speaking. The auction house also says the choice helped her take back control of her own story at a moment when much of it was being told by others.
The sale comes with high expectations. In 2023, another Diana evening dress, a black and blue gown she wore to a 1985 dinner, sold for $1.15 million, far above its pre sale estimate.
Briege Mackenzie has said she and her husband always knew the dress was special, and that with him gone, it now feels like the right time for it to pass to a new owner.
