LONDON — For 17 years, women around the world watched Princess Diana's ever-changing wardrobe. She became the most important ambassador for British designers and a fashion icon to millions here and abroad.
Now, suddenly, she is gone. But Diana left an important legacy.
"She put British fashion on the map," said designer David Sassoon, whose Belville Sassoon label made more than 50 outfits for her.
From the moment in 1980 that the British tabloids tipped Lady Diana Spencer as the future bride of Prince Charles, she became the most photographed woman in the world.
But the shy 19-year-old nursery school helper was far removed from the fashion world when she first appeared in the international spotlight. As biographer Andrew Morton noted, her "occasion" wardrobe consisted of one long dress, one silk shirt and a smart pair of shoes.
Diana knew she needed help and turned to her two sisters, who had worked for British Vogue. They took her to meet Anna Harvey, then the magazine's fashion editor.
Harvey introduced her to British designers and helped her build a wardrobe fit for a princess that was both fashionable and practical--hems were weighted, for example, so they didn't blow up in the breeze.
"The Princess of Wales was really keen to promote British fashion and she tried virtually every British designer that was going," said Hilary Alexander, fashion editor of the Daily Telegraph. "She wasn't afraid to experiment."
Diana made some fashion mistakes--a tight leather skirt worn with patterned tights that the tabloids said made her look like a shopgirl, "Dynasty" suits that made her look cheap, and shapeless sack dresses.
But gradually, she built up a coterie of British designers she relied on, including Catherine Walker, Victor Edelstein, Jacques Azagury and Sassoon. And she began to look chic, cool, elegant.
The result was a major transformation of the image of royal dressing.
"She brought it up to the '90s and transformed the stuffy traditional image into an international glamour look," Sassoon said.
Diana also played a key role in changing the image of British fashion. In the 1980s, Britain was a poor cousin of the European fashion industry; it was the French and Italians who counted. But Diana helped begin to shift the balance.
"She gave us the jump-start," said Harvey, now associate editor of British Vogue. "She was a fantastic ambassadress."
