Princess Diana’s Iconic Azagury Dress Shatters Auction Record, Fetching Over $1 Million

Estimated by experts at $100,000 (£78,776), the black velvet evening dress with a ballerina length sold at Julien’s Auctions for a total of $1,148,080 (£904,262), reports Daily Mail. That’s 11 times its estimated price. This dress created by Moroccan-born couturier Jacques Azagury, which includes shoulder pads, a blue organza skirt, a large bow and a belt, is now the new holder of the record for the most expensive dress worn by Princess Diana sold at auction. The previous record holder, a 1991 Victor Edelstein velvet dress, had been sold for $604,800 (£476,437) at an auction in January. Lady Di first wore the dress in Italy in 1985 during a royal tour with her then-husband, Prince Charles, and again with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 1986.

The pink crepe blouse with a ruffled collar and ample pleats on the front that Princess Diana wore in the official portrait of her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981 was also auctioned. Created by stylists David and Elizabeth Emanuel, it sold for $381,000 (£300,990), nearly four times its initial estimate of $80,000. It had been featured in the Diana: Her Fashion Story exhibition at Kensington Palace in 2019.