Of all Princess Diana’s memorable fashion moments, the late royal’s ‘revenge dress’ has arguably had the biggest impact on pop culture.
So it’s no surprise that Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer decided to pay tribute to one of their aunt’s most famous looks at last night’s Fashion Awards.
The twin sisters, 32, who spent their childhood in South Africa before moving to London in 2021, chose to coordinate outfits for the annual event at the Royal Albert Hall.
Lady Amelia, who married her long-term boyfriend Greg Mallett last year, cut an elegant figure in a floor-length black dress with sequin embellishments.
Like Diana’s ‘revenge dress’, the neckline of Amelia’s dress featured a dip in the middle.
Meanwhile, Lady Eliza’s dress also gave a nod to Diana with its off-the-shoulder design, which echoed the late Princess of Wales’ Christina Stambolian dress.
Lady Amelia Spencer (left) and Lady Eliza Spencer (right) echoed their aunt’s famous ‘revenge dress’ at the Fashion Awards last night
For the gala at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994, Diana wore her famous sapphire and eight-strand pearl choker, which was originally a brooch given to her by the Queen Mother.
As such, the Spencer twins opted for equally eye-catching jewelry last night: Both sisters modeled matching diamond necklaces, bracelets, and earrings on the red carpet.
While Lady Amelia’s delicate necklace was made up of several clusters of diamonds, Lady Eliza’s had a more architectural design, making the diamonds appear to float.
In 2021, the sisters revealed that they “wish they had spent more time with their aunt,” who tragically died when they were just five years old.
talking to Hello! magazineLady Eliza explained: ‘Unfortunately we were very young when she passed away.
‘Of course, I would have loved to have been able to spend more time with her. I have some special memories of her. I can’t explain why, but they stuck very clearly in my mind.
Christina Stambolian’s design, which Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia emulated last night, was famous as Princess Diana’s “revenge” dress in 1992, as the royal wore it in public on the same night King Charles publicly admitted to being unfaithful in his marriage.
On 29 June 1992, the King’s BBC documentary, Prince Charles: The Private Man, the Public Role, was broadcast to the public in an effort to restore his reputation after his divorce.
Princess Diana wore the iconic black number now known as the Revenge Dress, designed by Christina Stambolian, on June 29, 1994, at the Serpentine Gallery.
Like Diana’s ‘revenge dress’, the neckline of Amelia’s dress (left) featured a dip in the middle.
Lady Eliza’s dress (right) also gave a nod to Diana with its off-the-shoulder design, which echoed the late Princess of Wales’ Christina Stambolian dress.
During the infamous interview, the monarch admitted to journalist Jonathan Dimbleby that he had been unfaithful in their marriage, but only once it had “broken irretrievably.”
In a 1997 Vogue article, Princess Diana’s close friend Anna Harvey revealed that she originally feared the black mini dress was “too daring” and planned to wear a Valentino design to the event.
But after hearing about her ex-husband’s documentary, the source claimed that Diana wanted to “look a million dollars” for the difficult night and opted for a color that royals normally reserve for mourning.
Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown even described it in her 2007 book The Diana Chronicles as her ‘fucking dress’, and newspapers of the time agreed. The Mail reported at the time: “Charles swaggers while Diana dazzles.”
The princess had bought the dress for £900 in the Stambolian store after having lunch with her brother Charles Spencer at her favorite restaurant, the now closed St. Lawrence, before strolling along Beauchamp Place in Knightsbridge and entering the Stambolian store.
Christina Stambolian recalled that Princess Diana ordered a “special dress for a special occasion” at her store in 1991, according to Claudia Joseph’s book, Diana: A Life in Dresses.
Stambolian previously recalled how Diana was initially unsure about the revealing design and wanted it in cream instead of black.
The revenge dress features an asymmetrical hem, with a flattering sheer train that hangs from the cinched waist.
Princess Diana’s revenge dress sketch by Christina Stambolian taken from the book Diana: A Life in Dresses by Claudia Joseph.
At the time, her ex-husband, Charles, was being broadcast on television across the country being interviewed about his infidelity with Camilla Parker-Bowles.
Prince Charles confessed to having been unfaithful to Diana in an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby (left) on June 29, 1994.
She said: “We sat down and I drew some sketches on a sheet of paper.”
‘The dress was revealing, quite short and showed a lot of leg and flesh. Diana wasn’t sure about that. She thought it was a bit forward. She wanted everything more covered, longer and with a higher neck.
‘I told him he had good legs and that he should show them to me. “Why not be bold?” I said. He asked his brother (Charles) and he told him, “Do what you think is right.” He finally said “yes” to the style and then we moved on to the color.
‘I had black in my mind, but she wanted cream. To me, Diana was a black and white person. I didn’t like it with the pale pinks and blues with lots of beads.
It took two dressmakers who took more than 60 hours to create the outfit. Stambolian said she was “delighted to see Diana wear it that night of all nights.”