Princess Diana's Forgotten Giorgio Armani Gown Was Inspired by Her "Clean, Modern" Style
The Italian designer died at the age of 91 on Thursday.
The Gist
- Giorgio Armani passed away at the age of 91 on Thursday, September 4.
- He designed clothes for countless celebrities, including Princess Diana.
- She famously wore a pair of Armani chinos for her Angola landmine walk in 1997.
Dressing celebrities was part of Giorgio Armani's decades-long legacy, and in honor of the late "King of the Blazer," InStyle is remembering one of his little-known A-list looks.
Armani, who passed away at the age of 91 on Thursday, is credited with reinventing red carpet style: he pioneered providing clothing for stars such as Julia Roberts, who at the time, typically dressed themselves for events like the Oscars.
“I was one of the first designers to dress stars on and off screen,” Armani, who also created costumes for films like American Gigolo, told The Telegraph in 2013. “They didn’t always have a particular style, or the dress sense to know what to wear for an occasion. I helped them feel more confident and relaxed.”
One of his high-profile clients was Princess Diana, who famously paired a white shirt with Armani khakis for her brave trek across an Angola minefield. She was also known to favor his iconic power suits: in 1987, Diana rocked a pastel double-breasted blazer and a matching skirt at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, England.
Diana was even photographed in an Armani jacket on the final day of her life. On August 31, 1997, she and her then-boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed would perish in a car crash in Paris.
At the time of Diana's death, Armani revealed that he had been working on another design for the Princess.
“She seemed to have found that style of her own, strictly controlling any temptation to overdo things, and favoring clean, modern lines that set off her great face and figure in a very up-to-date way," Armani told WWD back in 1997.
“That’s what I was trying to emphasize with the dress I just did for her," he added. "It’s worth noting that she chose the design herself, the simplest one in the group of sketches I sent her.”
