LONDON, Dec 11 — A sweeping gown Princess Diana wore when she danced with John Travolta at the White House has been bought for more than US$280,000 (RM1.2 million) by the charity that looks after her former palace.
The bodiced, off-the-shoudler, midnight blue dress by couturier Victor Edelstein, was put up for sale by London’s Kerry Taylor Auctions on Monday, with an estimated price tag of £250,000-£300,000.
It failed to reach those figures during live bidding, but the charity moved in afterwards.
“It was sold post-auction ... for a hammer price of £220,000. The seller was delighted as he hoped it would stay in the UK,” the auction house said in a statement.
The charity Historic Royal Palaces — which looks after Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London as well as the public parts of Diana’s former home, Kensington Palace — said today it had bought a piece of history.
“Not only is the ‘Travolta’ dress a fantastic example of couture tailoring designed to dazzle on a state occasion, it represents a key moment in the story of twentieth century royal fashion,” Eleri Lynn, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, said in a statement.
“We’re delighted to have acquired this iconic evening gown for the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection — a designated collection of national and international importance — over 20 years since it first left Kensington Palace,” she added.
Diana wore the dress in 1985 at a White House state dinner, where she danced with the Grease actor.
Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said the gown had previously been bought in 2013 for £200,000 “by a romantic gentleman who wanted basically to cheer up his wife”.
“But since then it’s spent most of its time locked away in a wardrobe and now as a couple they feel they really want this to go out into the public domain.” — Reuters
