Elizabeth Emanuel, the co-designer of Princess Diana’s iconic wedding dress, has revealed how she created a secret second gown for the royal — as a backup.
The world eagerly anticipated the reveal of Lady Diana Spencer’s wedding dress, a secret that was kept under wraps until the then-Prince Charles and Diana’s big day.
Unbeknownst to many, there was an alternative gown in play, as designers had crafted a “backup” dress in secrecy, unbeknownst to even Diana.
The contingency frock wasn’t a mere duplicate; it was an entirely distinct creation, envisioned as a precaution should the first dress meet with disaster or its design be prematurely exposed prior to the royal nuptials at St. Paul’s Cathedral, reports the Mirror UK.
Speaking with People Magazine, Elizabeth Emanuel, who, with her husband David, was responsible for Diana’s bridal look, shared her compulsive concerns that led to the existence of a spare dress.
She worried about potential perils like theft or damage befalling the original gown: “I was a bit neurotic, and I thought, ‘What happens if somebody breaks in and steals the dress or something spills or there’s a fire or it gets stolen? ‘”
Diana had apprehensions going into the wedding, it’s been reported (Image: Getty Images)
This alternative design eschewed the famous long train of Diana’s wedding dress and replaced the quintessentially eighties puffy sleeves with a more contemporary slim-fit style.
The backup dress was fashioned from off-the-shelf fabric, lacking the exquisite hand-embroidered details of the original. The silk used was a plain white, “not the deep ivory that the royal wedding dress was made of” Elizabeth clarified.
Despite all the meticulous preparation, the second dress remained unfinished. “I just thought, ‘If anything happens, we’ll finish it off and have it ready,'” Elizabeth recounted.
The fate of the dress is uncertain; as she put it, “It likely ended up on some sample rail. It probably got reused, torn up, thrown out, who knows?”
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The Princess’s 25-foot train was so voluminous that she had to be practically squeezed into the carriage that transported her to the wedding. The fabric was folded multiple times to fit, resulting in noticeable creases on Diana’s arrival at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Town and Country reported that the designers were so worried about the dress being stolen before the wedding that they even installed a safe to keep the taffeta and antique lace gown secure from curious eyes.
