Princess Diana revenge dress story revisited as actor Elizabeth Debicki recreates iconic moment in The Crown Season 5 trailer

Princess Diana in her revenge dress (Image via AP)
Princess Diana in her iconic revenge dress (Image via AP)

The Crown's upcoming season is one of the most anticipated things in the world of entertainment right now. With the recent release of a trailer from Netflix, fans have gotten a lot more excited with many things from the royal family's history coming to the forefront.

After the confirmation of the infamous "Tampongate scandal," the fifth season of The Crown will also feature Princess Diana's black dress. The dress, made by designer Christina Stambolian, has been popularly dubbed the "revenge dress."

Princess Diana was no ordinary figure, and neither was her beauty, but she was rarely seen in black. It is a different matter that she outdid everyone when she wore black, but her preferred clothes were always elegant polka dots and florals.

However, out of the few times she shined in black, none is as significant as the 1994 Vanity Fair outfit, popular as the 'revenge dress.'


The Crown season 5: What was iconic about the "revenge dress"?

One of the main reasons behind the popularity of the black dress was its timing. Princess Diana's last-minute decision to change into the black off-shoulder dress coincided perfectly with the release of then-Prince Charles' candid iTV interview with Jonathan Dimbleby.

Prince Charles, now King Charles, publicly admitted to being unfaithful to Princess Diana during the interview.

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Another factor about the dress that even The Crown will focus on is that the dress was bolder and much more daring than anything a royal woman would have worn at the time. The dress had an off-the-shoulder plunging neckline and ended above the knee, which wasn't the norm for the women of the Royal Family.

According to Diana's late fashion stylist and friend Anna Harvey, the former wore the dress intentionally in order to make a statement.

Elizabeth Debicki, who plays Princess Diana in The Crown, admitted that she received multiple fan emails asking her about the famous "revenge dress."

She also commented on the influence of the dress and said that it "provoked something" in her as it is quite incredible that a dress represents such a moment in history. She added that it was amazing how Diana's life represented so much and became "so iconic," and noted that the day she wore the dress "was a big day on set" for her.

Debicki also praised the show's costume designers and said that they hit it off "beautifully as people and collaborators."

The actress added that it wasn't about recreating the dress, but that they were all interested in delving into the essence of what made the wardrobe so iconic, why so it was groundbreaking in many ways."

Photographer Dafydd Jones, the photographer inside the 1994 party, revealed how Princess Diana pulled off the complicated fashion choice with ease. He said that the Princess looked fabulous and said that he only had "limited time before everyone sat down for dinner."

The photographer added that it was then that he realized that he hadn't managed to get a picture of Diana with Vanity Fair's editor Graydon Carter. He continued:

"She gave me a sympathetic smile and said something about my being in trouble for missing the shot... and happily posed with Graydon in the garden."

The upcoming season of The Crown will premiere on November 9, 2022, on Netflix and, as mentioned earlier, it will feature Elizabeth Debicki recreating the iconic moment.

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