Brussels
If Princess Diana were alive, what would her face be at 60, which she would finish this Thursday 1st? What clothes would you wear, what causes would you promote? What kind of mother-in-law would she be and what would you think of the controversies sparked by her youngest son, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle?
Twenty-four years after her death in Paris, the tall blonde girl who wanted to be a dancer and became one of the world’s greatest celebrities still attracts millions of people who, not content with remembering her past, also rewrite her future. conceived.
The mature traits of the so-called “People’s Princess” after six decades can be found in dozens of newspapers, magazines and social media accounts, which have used apps to age their old photos or have resorted to illustrations.
The results show more or less wrinkles, more or less hair, and more or less necklines, but still highlight the biased purple look of Diana Frances Spencer, who became a lady at 14, when her father inherited her. a county, and then dictated in fashion until the 19th, when she became engaged to the first man in the royal family’s succession.
Woman’s World, for example, claims the princess would keep her gray hair “as gracefully as our favorite women who embrace natural aging.”
The French AmoMama imagines her wearing clothes from the Fenty collection, launched by singer Rihanna, and playing the role of ambassador for the LGBT cause, “especially for men and women in transition, fighting against the exclusion of a society that does not understand them “. Based on her difficult past in the royal family, she would endorse the move for more autonomy from Harry and Meghan.
DRIVE FASHION BOOT AND SUIT
Diana became the most photographed woman in the world, an “influencer” of the analog world, long before she became a princess. A photo of her wearing rubber boots while still engaged was enough to skyrocket the model’s sales.
She was the first member of the royal family to wear pants at a formal party in the 1990s, popularizing costumes. “What she chose to wear was a message to the world, and she was a key leader of my generation in shaping how you might present yourself as a woman,” said Jessica Hobbs, who directed two episodes. of “The Crown” focused on Diana. , in the American newspaper LA TYimes.
The princess was nominated for the World’s Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1989 and included in Time magazine’s Greatest Fashion Icons of All Time list in 2012. Her most famous looks have been compiled by various fashion magazines, like Harper’s Bazaar.
Its influence is not limited to the past, however. New York-based brand Rowing Blazers, designed for millennials, took inspiration from Diana, a person old enough to be the mother of her children, when she launched her first womenswear collection.
It worked. The sweaters that cost $ 295 (roughly R $ 1,500) sold out within moments, brand founder Jack Carlson told The Times at the time: “Diana was ahead of her time.”
It was also with Lady Di “as an incredibly fearless person with incredible humanitarian compassion” in mind that American designer Tory Burch created the spring-summer collection she presented at New York Fashion Week. 2020.
In this contemporary take, the influence of the British ’80s shows in florals, stripes and polka dots, button-down classics and flowy skirts worn with sneakers.
FROM FAIRY TALE TO TRAGEDY
Even before being the center of attention of photographers, journalists and fans around the world, Diana already had her own style and her own life beyond the limits and standards of the British nobility, of which she was a part. .
At school, she revealed a talent for piano, theater and dance. At 17, she moved into an apartment she shared with friends in London and, for a time, looked after the son of an American couple and worked as a kindergarten teacher at Young England School.
She had just turned 20 when she began her unhappy marriage to Charles on July 29, 1981, which gave her two children (William and Harry) and a series of “royal duties” that have turned into countless occasions. for her to be photographed, filmed, discussed, interpreted and copied to this day.
On social networks, hundreds of thousands of fans still follow photos of his past or news of his heirs on pages dedicated to him. More than 56,000 people follow the @LadyDiRevengeLooks account, where the princess appears modestly dressed in a polka dot or questionable leopard swimsuit.
Her slender, childish and frightened figure was suited to the fairytale vibe created around her, and the silk taffeta dress designed for her wedding by designer couple David and Elizabeth Emanuel, with a veil held by the Spencer family diamond tiara and a bouquet of gardenias, lily of the valley, white freesia, golden roses, white orchids carried the whimsy to its height.
In addition to the crowds of hundreds of thousands on the way between Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral, her wedding was followed live by over 1 billion people around the world and still makes the mark today. eyes of viewers when shown in documentaries, series or films about the royal family.
On YouTube, one of the videos from the event has been viewed over 24 million times and there are dozens of covers, in chapters, with millions of additional audiences.
The princess has always been strongly associated with the fashion world and sponsored and publicized British designers – such as Catherine Walker, Victor Edelstein and Christina Stambolian – and wore daring models, where the shoulders and back were common and the slits that showed her legs.
Her short, tight, low-cut black silk “revenge dress” worn in 1994 soon after Charles admitted he was cheating on her in an interview rose to fame.
A PRINCESS IN CHRIST THE REDEEMER
In Brazil, where she was in April 1991, she wore a white skirt above the knees and a printed blouse fitted at the waist with a wide green flag belt during her visit to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.
Epaulettes structured the cream ensemble of large buttons, crotchless sleeves and a half-open overskirt with which she walked hand in hand with children from charitable associations, a commitment that left her very touched, according to the reports of the time.
She didn’t escape the paparazzi, who caught her in a purple swimsuit with crossed straps behind her back in the pool at the Copacabana Palace hotel. Water green, by the way, was the color chosen for a meeting with the then first lady, Rosane Collor, who guaranteed the contrast by wearing head-to-toe pink in Brasilia.
A red off-the-shoulder dress was the choice for a formal nighttime event in Rio, and a floral model with puffed sleeves won her turn in a daytime engagement in São Paulo, accompanied by a wallet-type handbag and of a pearl necklace. In both cases, she wore pumps lined with the predominant color of her outfits, with medium heels.
By the way, her shoes always had moderate heels, so as not to exaggerate her height even more. At 1.78 meters, Diana was the same height as her husband and wore an almost flat model to her wedding, although she appears shorter in several official photos — which has sparked and still causes protests from her fans .
When she could not escape the dress shoes, it is common to see her slightly hunched, as if she was embarrassed to force her interlocutors to raise their heads.
After the divorce in 1996, designers saw a change in Lady Di’s style, with one-shoulder or strappy dresses, military-style or two-tone suits, overalls and neutral nude outfits.
Aware of the value of her “personal brand”, she promoted in 1997, a few months before her death, the sale of a series of dresses and costumes that she had worn, the profits of which would be donated to charity.
BIRTHDAY STATUE AND DOCUMENTARY
On the occasion of her 60th birthday, a statue commissioned by her children will be installed in the so-called Sunken Garden, one of the Princess of Wales’ favorite places, at Kensington Palace, where she lived.
The event to discover the sculpture is already attracting the attention of admirers of the Royal Family, due to the recent unease caused by the statements of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the interview with Oprah Winfrey. It is already certain that the two brothers, Harry and William, will be together, but there was great curiosity about Megan’s presence.
According to British media, the Duchess of Sussex will remain in California, caring for the couple’s children, Archie, 2, and Lilibet Diana, born on June 4.
The date was also the reason for the launch of a new documentary, 90 minutes long, which debuted on iTV last Thursday (24). In the ad copy, Diana is described as “the young woman who married a prince but became the internationally beloved People’s Princess in her own right, and one of the most beloved royal families of all time.”