The Pink Blouse
The Beginning of it all
It was the pink blouse in this portrait that Diana wore that started it all.
When going through the racks of clothing selected for the photo shoot, she found this pink blouse & fell in love with it. When Diana asked who made it she was directed to the Emanuel's...and well that's how it all began.
The Black Dress
It may have started with the blouse but it didn't end there, the first memorable garment by the press was "The Black Dress"
It was made for Diana's first public appearance, and was the Emanuel's first official design for Diana. It was to be a Black Tie Event at Goldsmith Hall (March 1981) and even Grace Kelly Princess of Monaco was in attendance.
(Diana later met Grace Kelly at the same event, and exchanged advice as Grace too had gone from "Commoner" to "Royalty")
There was rather mixed opinions about this dress. Diana had even fretted about the dress as it was very revealing and her cleavage was seen when getting out of the limo or that it was unbecoming as it was two sizes too small.
Upon meeting Princess Grace, Diana commented about how the media had gotten "Rather Excited" about it, Grace had jokingly said "Don't worry Dear, you'll see - it will only get worse"
The dress later did cause tongues to wag and say "It looks like a hip bath" "Daring" "Black is for mourning"
but along with the bad there is always the good.
I thought this dress was rather beautiful and it made her look like the definition of a princess, this has always been one of my favorite dresses.
The Royal Wedding Dress
After that event it was the day that changed the Emanuel's lives, they became noticed by the media and the paparazzi seemed to flock to their little four story studio, there were Paparazzi on roof's trying to get a winning shot, and journalists camped outside all waiting for Diana. The Emanuel's of course did some TV interviews and were so popular all at once that they had to let film crews in one at a time as there was very little space for much more.
So of course the next dress to be designed for Diana was her wedding dress. The Emanuel's consulted with Maureen Baker (She had made Princess Anne's wedding dress) as to what was appropriate & what was not, royal requirements, etc.
They also in the beginning had a safe installed in which to keep the fabric, pattern, sketches, etc. as they later realized making a royal wedding dress is a high security thing, and even the team that was hired all had ID cards that were required to be shown to the security guards before being allowed access to anything involving the royal wedding dress.
In the end it was a very beautiful wedding dress and probably one of the most memorable royal weddings to ever happen.
After the wedding, the next dress was to be this one:
The Swiss Dotted Dress
Embroidered with pearlized sequins and a pink sash, this dress was worn to a state banquet in 1982 it was held at Claridges in London in honor of King Khalid of Saudi Arabia during his visit to the UK.
The Turquoise Dress
Turquoise one shoulder drop waist gown, with a bow to accentuate the shoulder.
Princess Diana wore this on October 31st 1985 in Melbourne Australia at a ball in the Southern Cross Hotel. The most memorable piece to this outfit that everyone remembers is the fact that Diana wore an emerald & diamond choker (A wedding gift from The Queen) as a headband. A very creative head piece if I might add.
The Diaghilev Dress
Diana bought this dress (at a Red Benefit fashion show) in the summer of 1986 and was worn multiple times by on many occasions such as:
(July 4th 1986) to a state banquet for Richard Von Weizsaker President of the Federal Republic of Germany
(July 22nd 1986) to The Royal Opera House for a performance of "Ivan The Terrible" by the Balshoi Ballet
(June 29 1987) to the premiere of the James Bond film "The Living Daylights" at the Odeon, Leicester Square
A white silk organza ballgown decorated with gilt beads and gold paillettes and simulated pearls
It was inspired by Leon Bakst's designs for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and it had a matching head band, optional sleeve panels and petticoat. Diana wore it both with & without the petticoat & some times exchanging the head band for a tiara on more special occasions.
The Monochrome Dress
A black & white evening gown with a striped side bow
Worn during the royal tour of The Gulf States in Saudi Arabia in November 1986. This is one of the final dresses (That I know of) worn by Diana and made by Emanuel.
David & Elizabeth Emanuel
Though Diana in the end liked many designers one of the first was David & Elizabeth Emanuel. They as you can see above, made many of Princess Diana's garments. Sadly after the death of Princess Diana the Emanuel's marriage came to an end and they're also well known for their nasty divorce in 1990. In my opinion some of the best garments they ever made were created during the time of Diana.
