Remembering Princess Diana's 1987 Cannes Dress That Stopped the Show
The dress was designed by one of Diana's favorite designers, Catherine Walker.
Among the dazzling array of looks Princess Diana fashioned, the dress she wore to the 1987 Cannes Film Festival may just be one of the most memorable. Princess Diana and Prince Charles stopped by the 40th Cannes Film Festival for a 10-hour-long visit, and within that small timeframe, Diana and her baby blue dress by Catherine Walker drew lots of attention.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were attending Bette Davis's The Whales of August which was followed by a gala dinner. The then 26-year-old Diana walked the red carpet in a stunning gown alongside King Charles (then Prince Charles), and the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Cannes. The dress featured a chic scarf that wrapped her neck and flowed along the back of the dress forming a lovely train. To match, the princess wore a pair of sea blue colored diamond drop earrings with a matching bracelet, she finished the ensemble off with blue satin flats.
For film buffs, the dress is reminiscent of Grace Kelly's character in the Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch A Thief. Walker was inspired by the famous Hollywood gown and decided to emulate the look worn by Kelly with the dress she made for Diana. Kelly's dress was a Grecian-inspired chiffon gown made with two shades of powder blue with a scarf that elegantly draped her torso. The Princess of Wales reportedly worked with Walker to create the Grace Kellly-inspired look.
"It was an homage pregnant with meaning, with the actress of course going on to become royalty herself when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Diana and Grace had met in real life in 1981, with the Monégasque royal reportedly giving the newlywed advice on how to handle the pressures of the limelight," Tatler reported.
“Don’t worry, dear,” Grace reportedly told newly-wed Diana. “You see, it’ll only get worse.”
Walker eventually became one of Diana's favorite designers and the late princess was even buried in one of Walker's designs, a three-quarter-length black cocktail dress.
