TORONTO - Canadians will get a last look at famous designer gowns once worn by the late Diana, Princess of Wales, in a special exhibit before they hit the auction block.
The Design Exchange in Toronto is featuring 14 evening dresses from her collection in "The Life of a Royal Icon," which opened Monday.
The exhibit at the DX Museum marks the final time the gowns will be on display to the public. It follows an international tour which included a previous stop in Toronto, as well as visits to Vancouver, New Zealand, several U.S. cities, and a decade-long stay at Kensington Palace in London, where Diana lived until her death on Aug. 31, 1997.
Toronto auction house Waddington's will host a preview of the dresses from June 21 to 23. The auction will take place June 23 at 7 p.m. ET.
The collection is currently owned by American Maureen Rorech Dunkel. The Tampa Bay, Fla., resident originally purchased the dresses anonymously at a Christie's auction in New York just eight weeks before Diana was killed in a car accident in Paris at age 36.
Dunkel said she paid US$870,000 for some of the late princess's most well-known evening gowns, several of which were worn for state visits and dinners. The dresses selected were designed to illustrate Diana's growth through her fashion choices, she said.
"From the very beginning of her princess days right up until the day she died, her look changed very dramatically," Dunkel said in an interview Monday, standing against the backdrop of several of the intricately crafted gowns draped on mannequins.
"She moved from almost a very naive looking fairytale princess to a very sophisticated dresser, one who really developed a sleek and almost sexy look toward the end."
"She wore Versace and Chanel and she very much commanded her look. She created the public persona she wanted out there and dressed accordingly."
Dunkel said Toronto was the most heavily attended stop among the cities toured, which played a factor in selecting it for the final showing.
The collection includes luxury creations from famed British talents like Bruce Oldfield and Zandra Rhodes, and arguably Diana's favourite designer, the late Catherine Walker. The Frenchwoman, who died last year, created more than 1,000 designs worn by Diana.
Walker is credited as designer of 10 of the 14 dresses being exhibited and auctioned. They include a burgundy crushed velvet dinner dress with a low V-back worn to the 1985 film premiere of "Back to the Future," and a dress with a black velvet bodice and boasting a full tartan skirt worn in Scotland.
Another notable number is a midnight-blue silk velvet dress with off-shoulder straps designed by Victor Edelstein. Diana wore the Edwardian-inspired gown while famously taking a spin on the dance floor with actor John Travolta during a 1985 White House state dinner.
The exhibit also features three more form-fitting creations worn by Diana in images captured by celebrated photographer Mario Testino for a 1997 Vanity Fair feature published a month prior to her death. Testino also shot the engagement photos of Diana's eldest son, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The 14 dresses being featured were among 79 gowns auctioned for charity by the late princess, who at the time had expressed a desire to see the garments used to help others who were less fortunate. Diana had lent her voice and presence in championing numerous humanitarian and charitable causes during her life, including individuals living with HIV-AIDS, afflicted by leprosy and affected by landmines.
Dunkel, founder of The People's Princess Charitable Foundation, Inc., said she felt a responsibility to do something meaningful with the collection, which is how the concept of the charity tour originated, raising more than US$1 million in its first four years.
But after 14 years, she said she is ready to move on to pursue other goals and interests.
"I felt that with the wedding of William and Catherine and the royal fever that is pretty much around the globe it was just a really good time."
Vince Ciarlo, a publicist for Waddington's, said the dresses are expected to sell from $175,000 up to $1 million for the Edelstein "Travolta" dress. Dunkel said her preference would be to have a single individual, institution or foundation keep the dresses together, perhaps for use as a business fundraising tool or to simply enjoy it as a collection.
Waddington's is donating a portion of its commission from the sale to Canada's National Ballet School as a tribute to the princess's passion for both kids and ballet. Diana had supported the English National Ballet and the City Ballet of London, where she was also a patron.
If the recent sale of two of Diana's dresses is any indication, there remains a strong interest among those wanting items worn by the beloved style icon, as well as those seeking to stake a claim to a unique slice of royal memorabilia.
A pair of gowns worn by Diana sold last week for a combined US$276,000 at a celebrity auction held by Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif. The dresses were reportedly auctioned to a prominent yet unnamed museum.
"Every woman out there could identify with her having flaws and her being criticized for her weight... yet she was still this amazingly successful person because of her generosity," said Design Exchange president and CEO Sam Sannella. "I think we all aspire to be that in some way so we can all identify with her, so hopefully, she will never be forgotten."
"The Life of a Royal Icon" runs through June 10.
