The final series of Netflix’s The Crown is due to hit our screens later this week on 16 November, and last night its cast and crew gathered in Los Angeles for a typically glitzy premiere following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Reprising her role as Princess Diana, all eyes were on actor Elizabeth Debicki as she arrived wearing a Little Black Dress by Bottega Veneta, taken from its SS24 collection. The dress was a simple off-the-shoulder style that felt mid-length, with an exterior corset detail, which she wore with elegant black pumps and super sheer tights.
However, when placed within the context of being worn by the actor who takes on Diana, Princess of Wales to critical acclaim, the dress finds a new meaning.
Perhaps now one of the late royal’s greatest sartorial legacies is the Christina Stambolian dress she wore to the 1994 Serpentine Gallery party.
Ever since, the dress has become better known as ‘The Revenge Dress’, owing to the fact that the Princess wore it the same evening as Prince Charles appeared on television admitting his infidelities during their marriage. Elizabeth can be seen wearing the dress in season five of The Crown.
Here, her Bottega number was completely reminiscent of Diana’s style, with a shared neckline, silhouette and mirroring styling choices, which will have been noticed by fashion and royal fans alike.
The power of the Little Black Dress is exemplified here. Shop some of Red’s favourites below to harness your own sartorial strength.
This isn’t the first time that Elizabeth and her stylist Elizabeth Saltzman have devised red-carpet looks with a nod to Diana’s real-life wardrobe. To last year’s premiere, the 33-year-old actor wore a Dior gown that was entirely reminiscent of one worn by Diana during the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.
The sixth series of The Crown also introduces Catherine Middleton into the unfolding storyline of the Mountbatten-Windsors, played by newcomer Meg Bellamy. The 19-year-old English actor will play the now Princess of Wales in her university years in the early 2000s when she first met Prince William at St Andrews.
With last night being Meg’s first public appearance under the umbrella of this role, much intrigue surrounded her sartorial showing.
With the brunette locks that likely helped her secure the part styled straight and parted through the middle, the star championed British style in a Stella McCartney gown complete with embellishment and a plunging neckline that sits far from the usual royal red-carpet dressing.
It’s a simple yet stealthy start to her red-carpet trajectory, which we’re excited to see evolve and expand alongside her profile. If you fancy a splurge, it’s available from Mytheresa now.
The final series of The Crown will be delivered in two parts, firstly on 16 November, and later on 14 December. The plot this time will expanse from the early ’90s through to the early ’00s, covering seismic events within the royal timeline including Diana’s tragic death, before ending with Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee in 2007.
