London: Twenty years ago, Prince William had an idea: his mother should auction her dresses for charity.
It was a canny, modern royal move. From the day of her engagement when a luckily-timed "upcoming beauty" Lord Snowdon photo shoot for Vogue triggered a nationwide binge on pink chiffon blouses, Lady Diana Spencer's fashion choices were a global obsession.
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Princess Diana's dresses go on display
A new exhibition celebrates the stylish wardrobe of the Princess of Wales. (Vision: Nick Miller)
And for the next two years visitors to Kensington Palace in London can relive that obsession, at a collection of dresses notorious, glamorous and poignant, culminating with a small sample from the 79 cocktail and evening dresses sold at that auction just two months before she died.
"At the time, it was seen as her closing a chapter," says exhibition producer Poppy Cooper. "Sadly, we don't know what the next chapter would have been."
![Diana, Princess of Wales, an official visit to Hong Kong in 1989.](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/e/a/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
That packed Christie's auction in Manhattan broke a house record for a piece of clothing: the off-the-shoulder, ink-blue velvet dinner dress she wore when she danced at the White House with John Travolta went for US$222,500 ($288,600).
That dress is part of the Kensington Palace display, along with 24 others, stretching from the demure outfits of the early days, to the confident glamour of her later life.
They have been lent back to the palace from private owners across the world, along with a few items retained by the royal household.
Diana's emerging style, a mixture of traditional and high fashion, took her from naive Sloane Ranger to Versace-clad trendsetter.
![Princess Diana graced numerous magazine covers.](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/c/3/5/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
She became one of the most photographed women in history. Her image on the front of a magazine would boost sales by 40 per cent or more. As Roland Klein, one of her favourite designers put it, "when she was wearing something that was photographed it had an immediate effect".
Diana took it seriously. The exhibition includes several of the sketches sent to her by British designers – some she returned with a note or a request ("Please!" her excited handwriting says on one sketch). She would spread the sketches about her on the floor, comparing fabrics and styles.
![Dresses have been lent back to Kensington Palace from private owners across the world for the Diana: Her Fashion Story ...](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/c/3/a/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
"She was a real boon to the fashion industry," Ms Cooper says. "She learned the rules of royal dress, but then she started taking risks, being experimental."
Some were mistakes (for example, the infamous green tartan 'horse blanket' worn on an official visit to Italy in 1985, then never seen again).
![Outfits on display at Kensington Palace.](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/5/b/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
But most were lauded. In 1986, at the America's Cup Ball at the Grosvenor House Hotel, she wore a black velvet bodice with red silk taffeta skirt, paired with one red and one black glove. It was riotously successful. And in 1989 a black and white silk satin cocktail dress, worn to a night at the Barbican, was a playful interpretation of a masculine tuxedo.
For charity she went practical, with children she went floral, and when shopping on Bond St she was spotted in an executive-style, sexy blue shift dress. Her influences ranged from Grace Kelly to Madonna.
![Twenty-five dresses will be on display for the two-year exhibition.](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/5/b/w/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
She wanted to be known as a "workhorse not a clotheshorse", Ms Cooper says, but she was acutely aware of the attention on her wardrobe, and hoped to exploit it to draw attention to the charitable causes she cared about.
"She understood her image was powerful," Ms Cooper says. "She wanted to use that.
![Princess Diana, wearing an evening dress designed by Victor Edelstein, dances with movie star John Travolta during her ...](/web/20170223050251im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/j/5/h/6/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.guj5ds.png/1487810836542.jpg)
Ms Cooper said Diana's sons have not yet visited the collection – but the royal household kept a close eye on the development of the exhibition.
Diana died on August 31, 1997. This spring, Kensington Palace, where she once lived, will also put on a special display for Diana. Many of the palace's gardeners knew the princess, and remember her fondness for walks in the sunken garden, which will be transformed into a memorial 'White Garden'.
The flowers and foliage are inspired by memories of the Princess's life, image and style: tulips and scented narcisii through a carpet of 'forget me nots', then pots of classic English white roses in the summer around the reflective pool.
When the flowers bloom, it will be another tribute to a princess who was well aware of the power of beauty.
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