Words Edel Cassidy
Newbridge Silverware is renowned for its unique designs in jewellery, giftware and tableware. But their flagship lifestyle store in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, is not just a shopper’s paradise, it’s also the site of the world-renowned Museum of Style Icons. In 2006, the company acquired the Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the mad-cap thriller Charade (1963) at a Christie’s auction in London. This elegant little black dress with a sequined peplum and matching trim at the base sparked an idea that led to the creation of the Museum of Style Icons.
The iconic dress, which was initially housed in a glass cabinet in the showroom in Newbridge Silverware, generated worldwide media interest. It also attracted countless domestic and international visitors, making Newbridge Silverware a must-visit tourist attraction and shopping destination.
The story of the Hepburn dress came to the attention of Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions, the leading auction house of celebrity memorabilia. Executive director of Julien’s, Martin J. Nolan, originally from Ireland, contacted Newbridge Silverware and proposed that their next auction, a collection of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia, should go on pre-auction exhibition at the Newbridge Silverware showrooms. Recognising this as an exceptional opportunity, the offer was accepted. With just two months to go to the exhibition date and with no permanent exhibition space, plans were put in place to build a museum that would be ready just in time for the gala event on opening night.
Over the years since then, Julien’s Auctions have brought many more touring exhibitions to Newbridge, including items belonging to Michael Jackson, Olivia Newton-John and Joan Collins. Meanwhile, Newbridge Silverware was building its collection, which is now on permanent display at the Museum of Style Icons.
Diana, Princess of Wales
This year marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31st August 1997. The anniversary has reignited interest in the fashion icon whose style continues to be emulated and loved. Newbridge Silverware’s permanent collection includes some of the iconic garments worn by the Princess.
The Final Toile of the Wedding Dress and Duplicate Veils
One of the main attractions at the Museum of Style Icons is the final toile of Princess Diana’s wedding dress. The up-and-coming young designers David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who designed the wedding dress, made several toiles. These were made up in calico so that the design could be tested and accurately fitted before cutting the precious silk fabric that was used for the dress itself.
Diana’s remarkable weight loss in the lead-up to the royal wedding meant that the designers had to make several toiles. The toile on display at the museum is the final one and therefore an exact replica of the famous dress, which was finally made up in silk taffeta.
The toile display is accompanied by duplicate veils which were made for the wedding in 1981. The veiling was by John Heathcote and the hand-sequinning was carried out by Locke and Company. The shaped veil, measuring almost twenty-seven feet, is made from delicate silk tulle with an integrated face veil covered with a shimmer of sequins.
The Off-Cuts and Patterns
Also on display is the original brown paper pattern used for making the royal wedding gown, along with off-cuts from the final calico toile and the woven silk taffeta dress fabric. Included are two silk bodice toiles, a pair of calico sleeve toiles, a single slimmer alternative sleeve toile and fragments from the square of antique Carrickmacross lace, once belonging to Queen Mary, which formed the central bodice panel.
Also on display are the original brown paper pattern and two original sketches, by Elizabeth Emanuel, of the royal wedding gown, one dated 1981.
The Miniatures
Copies of the royal wedding gown and bridesmaids’ dresses scaled to one-eighth of the original size were handmade by Elizabeth Emanuel using off-cuts from the original silk and lace of the wedding gown.
Mounted on miniature mannequins, the three bridesmaids’ dresses are similar to those worn by India Hicks, Clementine Hambro and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones.
There were two sets of the miniatures made; one was presented to the Princess of Wales herself and the other is on show in the Museum of Style Icons.
The Engagement Blouse
This romantic pale pink chiffon blouse with fluted neckline and satin neck-ribbon was worn by Lady Diana Spencer for the official engagement photograph taken by Lord Snowdon. This blouse marked the start of the relationship between Diana, Princess of Wales and David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
The blouse was an off-the-rail garment designed by the Emanuels. They received a phone call from Vogue magazine asking if they had a blouse with a high neck that could be borrowed by a very famous personality but they were not told who it was.
Diana loved the blouse so much that she paid a visit to the Emanuels’ studio in London. There she chose the black dress that she wore on her first official public engagement. She also commissioned them to design her wedding dress.
The India Dress
Diana developed a very glamorous regal style for overseas tours that often paid homage to the host nation. The inspiration for the lavishly embroidered silk evening gown she wore during a state visit to India in February 1992 came from the lid of an Indian inlaid marquetry box found by the designer Catherine Walker in a London market.
The sleeveless gown is embroidered to the dropped waistline with three-dimensional exotic blooms in looped and satin-stitched corded silk. Layered pink sequins, centred by amber, green and pink crystal beads, scattered with small white floret-shaped sequins, are set against a green iridescent background with gold chain-stitched leaves. The plain silk cuffs on the bolero jacket have three large buttons inset with emerald and pink rhinestones. The intricate embroidery was commissioned by Catherine Walker from Locke and Company who also hand-sequinned Diana’s wedding veil.
It was during this visit to India in 1992 that Diana was famously photographed sitting alone at the Taj Mahal, the monument to lost love. It was an image that caused a great deal of speculation in the press at the time. Her official separation from Prince Charles (now King Charles) was announced in December that year.
The Princess was photographed wearing this gown by Lord Snowdon in 1997.
The Revenge Dress
On the night of 29 June 1994, in an interview with Jonathan Dimbleby, Prince Charles admitted to his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. On the same night, Diana appeared radiant in this figure-hugging little black dress designed by Christina Stambolian as she attended an event in the Serpentine Gallery, London, garnering media attention the world over.
Made from black silk damask, the bodice was criss-crossed with tiny pleats that continued over the dropped shoulder line. This was not the dress the Princess had originally planned to wear that night. She was to wear a Valentino-designed dress, but its details were leaked to the press before the event. As
a result, the Stambolian dress was worn instead.
With this dress, Diana took power dressing to a whole new level. The ‘revenge dress’, as it became known, ignored royal protocol, being black (usually only worn for mourning) and having such a provocative cut. It demonstrated Diana’s independent spirit and upbeat approach to life in the face of adversity.
In her book Diana, Her Life in Fashion, Georgina Howell wrote that the dress was ‘possibly the most strategic dress ever worn by a woman in modern times’, with which Diana ‘flipped her husband clean off the front pages’ following the broadcast of his interview.
- ‘The Museum of Style Icons: Celebrating Diana’ is published in Anthology Volume 18. Read more features from this volume or buy it now.
- Browse more in arts.
- If you were inspired by this feature, we’d love it if you would share it!