Bruce Oldfield: Princess Diana's Favorite Designer
In honor of the designer’s 72nd birthday, look back on how Bruce Oldfield wielded his peerless tenacity and refined taste to break free from the parochialism of British fashion.
One of the UK’s most-celebrated designers, Bruce Oldfield has dressed public figures ranging from constituents of the British aristocracy Princess Diana and Duchess Camilla of Cornwall, to members of the Hollywood elite such as Barbra Streisand, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Helen Mirren.
Before amassing such notable clientele during his meteoric rise to prominence upon his entry into the world of fashion, however, Oldfield came from humble beginnings. Oldfield was born out of wedlock to a white mother and a Jamaican father on July 14, 1950. Upon being abandoned at birth, he was taken in by British charity Barnardo’s for a period before eventually getting fostered by a seamstress named Violet Masters in County Durham when he was 18 months old. Masters, who ran a bustling household and fostered many children, became Oldfield’s first mentor, teaching him how to cut and sew at a young age. Although Oldfield left Masters’ household at age 13 to return to Barnardo's, his formative years there instilled in him a love of fashion, and by the age of 15 he had already set his sights on a career in fashion design.
Oldfield’s designs first began making waves during his time studying at London’s leading school of design, Central Saint Martin’s College of Art, where all eyes were on him as he emerged as the star student of his class. At the end of his time there, famous actress Bianca Jagger (who Oldfield confessed to having had an affair with, despite eventually coming out as gay) purchased his entire graduating collection.
In 1974, iconic actress Charlotte Rampling reached out to Oldfield, asking him to design the costumes for her film, Le Taxi Mauve, directed by Yves Boisset, marking a major career turning point for the fledgling designer. That same year, Oldfield’s designs first appeared on the pages of Vogue, a significant milestone for him, and in 1975, the young and ambitious designer launched his own eponymous ready-to-wear label with the help of a business loan from Barnardo’s. In 1978, Oldfield first tried his hand at couture, which it immediately became clear was his true calling. Oldfield swiftly paved a way for himself by way of his figure-flattering, often understated yet sexy custom designs.
Soon enough, he caught the eye of Princess Diana herself in 1980, who asked him to design her something to wear as she partook in the annual tradition of switching on the Oxford Street Christmas lights. Shortly after, Diana became a regular client, and Oldfield continued to dress her for several years to come, the most famous of his looks being a silver lame dress with an open back she wore to the Film Premiere of the James Bond film A View to Kill in 1985. Throughout his decade-long reign as Princess Diana’s favorite designer, Oldfield contributed greatly to her legacy as a style icon. Prior to being dressed by him, Diana’s style consisted of traditional English style elements: high collars, button-ups, etcetera—it was Oldfield who introduced glamour and modern refinement to her wardrobe.
In 1990, Oldfield was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) award for his services to the British fashion industry, and throughout his career, he raised over 500 million pounds for Barnardo’s, eventually becoming the vice president of the organization in 1998. Along with dressing some of the world’s best-dressed women, Oldfield has also made some less conventional design ventures, such as revamping the McDonalds employee uniforms in 2008 to aid the company in its mission to modernize its image.
Oldfield’s dabble with the less-than-designer brand paid off greatly for the company, both boosting its image and adding some practical tweaks, one being that employees’ formerly white shirts were replaced with mocha-colored clothing, which showed stains less easily.
Additionally, Oldfield dressed Kim Kardashian before it was cool (believe it or not, high fashion designers once avoided being associated with the Kardashians like the plague, back when the family’s fiscal empire was strictly the result of their appearance on “trash” TV). Ultimately, Oldfield’s showmanship and opulent, universally-flattering designs made him one of the most famous couturiers of all time, changing the formerly conservative British fashion landscape in his wake.
