She was the most influential style icon of the 1990s. And the Met Gala was, as it is today, fashion’s biggest night out. So, while it may come as a surprise that Princess Diana only attended the annual fundraiser once, in 1996, it’s little wonder she was the center of attention.
Then the Princess of Wales, she arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art just hours after reaching New York City by Concorde. Cameras and commotion had accompanied her every move since divorcing Britain’s then-heir, Prince Charles, less than four months earlier.
And as she ascended the Met’s iconic steps with her friend (and the evening’s chair), Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis, it was clear Diana intended to embrace the attention.
This was evident not only in her choice of gown — a daring, negligee-inspired navy slip dress with a black lace trim — but also in her decision to secretly alter the garment into something far more risqué than its designer had intended.
The outfit was the work of John Galliano, who had recently left Givenchy to take the helm at Dior. That year’s Met Gala theme (and accompanying exhibition) centered on the French label’s founder, Christian Dior.
And Galliano’s first couture assignment was to dress the event’s best-known attendee. He visited London’s Kensington Palace ahead of the gala to share drawings and discuss ideas with the princess.
Recounting the experience in last year’s Hulu documentary series “In Vogue: The 90s,” the British designer said he lobbied Diana to wear pink but “she was not having it.”
The princess had it her own way — and then some: After receiving the finished gown, she drastically modified it without Galliano’s knowledge.
“Fast-forward to the event, and I just remember her getting out of the car.
I couldn’t believe it. She’d ripped the corset out,” the designer revealed in the documentary. “She didn’t want to wear the corset.”
Source : CNN
