What does the British royal family think of Netflix’s The Crown?
What does the British royal family think of Netflix’s The Crown?
As Netflix gears up to release its sixth and final season of The Crown this month, viewers are in for a fashion treat. While 80s Di was undeniably influential – those tartan suits, big-collared pregnancy dresses and outsize shoulder pads were copied around the world – it was in the 90s that she found a fashion formula that really worked for her.
I love all her 90s office wear … It could have been conservative but it wasn’t at all – instead she looked like a hot Ally Mcbeal
“She started to embrace a more American aesthetic at this point,” says Eloise Moran, the author of The Lady Di Look Book. “New York fashion was pushing the minimalist trend and there were rumours Diana might move to Manhattan – she loved America and America loved her, and I think that’s why in the last years of her life she often wore styles that originated over there.”
After years of having to manage Charles’ ego, Diana was also finally ready to be taken seriously in her own right, and this was reflected in her post-divorce wardrobe.
“I love all her 90s office wear,” says Moran. “The minimalist nature of it shows that she wanted to be this working princess. She looked incredible in those sleek minis which she wore with blazers with nothing underneath. It could have been conservative but it wasn’t at all – instead she looked like a hot Ally Mcbeal.”
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“She looked amazing and glowed with life that summer,” says Moran. “She completely captured the French Riviera look, but made it even more glamorous. Yes she colluded with the paparazzi but she knew what she was doing – and you got the feeling she was enjoying finally being in control of her life.”
Interestingly, the costume design team for The Crown have spoken about how many of Diana’s relaxed 90s looks – her athleisure, her straight-leg jeans and one-piece swimming costumes – have found their way back into current fashion some 30 years later. “So many of the young group working on the film just loved the clothes,” said chief costume designer Amy Roberts in an interview. “Partly because they were all pieces they wanted to wear now.”
Moran agrees, adding that as Diana grew in confidence her fashion choices became more about who she was and what she wanted to express than about following trends. “In the 80s she was experimental but in the late 90s you really start seeing her embodying a style of her own,” she adds “I only wish we could have seen what she had done as she grew older – as it no doubt would have been wonderful.”