Princess Diana had full creative control over her iconic look at the 1996 Met Gala, her only time walking the “most influential red carpet in the world.”
In Hulu’s new docuseries, “In Vogue: The 90s,” designer John Galliano spoke about his experience working with the Princess of Wales during his time as the creative director for Dior.
“I remember one day we all jumped into this old van, and we went to London, where we met Princess Diana,” he recalled. “She’d been invited to the Met, and she would wear one of my dresses.”
“It was like a blessing. I mean like, wow,” Galliano said in the series. “We went to Kensington Palace and discussed drawings.”
Despite being one of the most influential designers at the time, Galliano said Diana gave him a bit of pushback when it came to her look.
“I was trying to push for pink, but she was not having it. ‘No, not the pink!’” he reflected. “That was real, real fun.”
“So we did the dress and subsequent fittings, and it was beautifully done.”
However, when the big night came, Galliano realized Diana had made a few last-minute alterations to the slinky navy slip dress with black lace detailing.
“Fast-forward to the event, and I just remember her getting out of the car,” Galliano said with a gasp. “I couldn’t believe it. She’d ripped the corset out.”
“She didn’t want to wear the corset,” he continued. “She felt so liberated. She’d torn the corset out. The dress was much more… sensuous.”
Diana paired the famous gown with a stunning pearl-and-sapphire choker and a quilted blue satin bag — which was later renamed Lady Dior in her honor.
She also arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual benefit, which was themed that year to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Christian Dior himself and his brand, in a matching satin robe, which she removed after the red carpet.
“I mean, wow! Diana was my first couture client,” Galliano said.
Diana walked the red carpet alongside friend and former Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis, with the monumental moment coming just months after her divorce from future King Charles.
“I think all of us were so captivated and fascinated by Princess Diana,” Anna Wintour said in the new series.
“At that time, she was the most famous woman in the world,” the Vogue editor continued. “She was enjoying fashion and the spotlight that she put on, particularly British designers.”
Diana tragically died in a car crash less than one year after her Met Gala debut. She was 36.
