Wednesday, 27 May 2026
Princess Diana pictured wearing the floral Bellville Sassoon gown, which is estimated to fetch up to $300,000, to a polo match in 1988. Tim Graham/Getty Images
Princess Diana’s signature style up for bidding in unprecedented auction
Princess Diana’s iconic fashion is taking center stage in what’s being billed as the biggest auction of her wardrobe to date, CNN reported.
This remarkable event features over 100 items once belonging to the late Princess of Wales, including hats, handbags, shoes, original sketches, and handwritten letters. Among the standout pieces going under the hammer are Diana’s ski suit, a Dior handbag gifted by France’s former first lady, and the flower-print dress she wore during hospital visits to cheer up young patients.
Julien’s Auctions, which is orchestrating the sale, has dubbed it the largest collection of Princess Diana’s fashion ever offered at auction. Known as “Princess Diana’s Style & A Royal Collection,” the sale is now open for online bidding and will culminate in a live auction later this month at The Peninsula in Beverly Hills, California.
Two dresses command the highest pre-auction estimates. The first, a floral dress Diana wore multiple times between 1988 and 1992—including on an official trip to Spain—and the second, a cream silk evening gown by Catherine Walker that graced her 1986 tour of the Gulf. Both are anticipated to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000 each.
Crafted by the luxury London atelier Bellville Sassoon, the floral dress was affectionately known by Diana as her “caring dress,” according to its designer David Sassoon, who explained that its vibrant colors helped comfort children during her hospital visits.
Other headline pieces include a yellow floral two-piece ensemble by Bruce Oldfield, a blue sleeveless shift designed by close friend Gianni Versace, and a black taffeta gown from her 1981 London appearance, marking her first official event after announcing her engagement to then-Prince Charles.
Elizabeth Emanuel, the designer behind that black gown and later Diana’s legendary wedding dress, contributed archival materials and sketches for the sale, expressing hope that these pieces will be “loved and appreciated once again by those who cherish the golden era when Diana was our Queen of Hearts.”
The auction also features treasures like the lambskin Dior handbag gifted to Diana by Bernadette Chirac and the distinctive peach straw archer hat she sported for her honeymoon send-off in 1981.
While many of the garments were worn at formal events, the collection also highlights Diana’s flair for relaxed 1980s and ’90s fashion, such as a vivid red nylon ski suit and an oversized British Lung Foundation sweatshirt, with projected sale prices of $50,000 and $20,000 respectively.
Diana’s garments have consistently attracted significant interest at auction. In 1997, she auctioned nearly 80 dresses through Christie’s, raising more than $3.2 million for cancer and AIDS charities. The current record for a single item of her clothing was set last year at Julien’s Auctions, when a black-and-blue Jacques Azagury gown from the mid-1980s sold for an impressive $1.14 million.