A DRESS FOR DIANA by DAVID EMANUEL and ELIZABETH EMANUEL

A DRESS FOR DIANA

BY 

DAVID EMANUEL and ELIZABETH EMANUEL

THE BLURB:-

For the young designers, David Emanuel and Elizabeth Emanuel, it was a “fairytale come true.” Having only been introduced to Lady Diana Spencer in February 1981, the Emanuels quickly became favoured designers, leading to a telephone call on March 1981 that would change their lives forever.

THE REALITY:-

This book was released in 2006, to mark the 25^th anniversary of the royal wedding to beat all royal weddings- that of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, in July 1981. I bought it a few years later, for a few quid off either eBay or Amazon, but it was on sale at the recent Kensington Palace exhibition I visited, which featured this iconic dress.

It wasn't this dress that sparked my interest in fashion- that was already a done deal- but it certainly inspired me, and it was a pleasure to see it displayed (although I've seen pictures of it so many times before that it felt like I already knew it!)

That black Emanuel dress which Diana wore for her first official evening engagement was absolutely stunning (although it earned Diana a stuffy rebuke from the royal family, for being both too revealing and “the colour of mourning.”) I loved it, and it confirmed Diana's place as a trend-setter and forthcoming icon.

Here's a couple of PDFs of it, on her and on the stand...

It featured in the book alongside a couple of other pieces, but the core of the story is a well-documented dream from start to finish, giving up all of the intimate details behind the making of the wedding dress, the team and the background to the designers' career.

Here's my photo of the dress, taken recently in Kensington Palace.

The first married couple to show at the Royal College of Art, it was great to read how their careers progressed, and also the secret details of the going-on behind the doors of their atelier.  Whilst I'm familiar- coming from a fashion design background- with the workings and operations of a fashion house, it's interesting to view someone else's stomping ground, and to hear about their perspective.

The best aspects of the book were the design elements of the dress- the sketches, the silk, the lace and the embroidery; the vintage element of some of that lace and how the whole project was pulled together.  And, of course that fabulous 25ft train (still the longest in royal history!)

If you like wedding dresses and you liked Diana you'd love this account, which features some brilliant photos, of a truly fabulous project.