Ten 'iconic' Princess Diana dresses up for auction

The Princess of Wales dances with John Travolta at the White House in 1985 Ten dresses belonging to Britain's late Princess Diana, including a gown she famously wore while dancing with Hollywood actor John Travolta, are to be sold in London , auction house Kerry Taylor has confirmed.

The collection, due to go under the hammer on March 19, is believed to be worth at least £600,000 ($919,000, 687,000 euros), a spokeswoman for Kerry Taylor Auctions told AFP.
The auction house said the lots included some of the "most important and iconic" dresses worn by Prince Charles's glamorous former wife, who died in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
"Some of the gowns were worn for official state visits to Austria, Australia, Brazil, India, South Korea and the United States of America," said the auction house, which specialises in vintage fashion sales.
"Diana was photographed wearing them by not only by the paparazzi, but by some of the leading photographers of the day -- including Mario Testino and Lord Snowdon."
The collection includes a midnight blue velvet gown by Victor Edelstein which Diana wore to a 1985 state dinner at the White House where she twirled around the dance floor with "Saturday Night Fever" star Travolta.
"These elegant couture creations were made by some of her favourite designers -- Zandra Rhodes, Catherine Walker, Bruce Oldfield and Victor Edelstein," said Kerry Taylor Auctions.
"One of them, a dark green velvet dinner gown, has what appears to be the print of a small hand on the skirt -- possibly that of a young prince?"
Diana, who became a global style icon and was famed for her charity work, wed heir to the throne Prince Charles in a lavish ceremony in 1981. They had two sons, William and Harry, but divorced in 1996.
At Diana's request, the ten dresses were originally sold in a charity auction in New York in June 1997, just two months before she died.
Florida-based businesswoman Maureen Dunkel bought the dresses, along with four others. She was forced to put them up for auction in 2011 after she went bankrupt -- but only four of them sold.
"The reserve prices were ridiculously high," a Kerry Taylor spokeswoman told AFP.
"That sale was a bit of a disaster. But they are beautiful dresses. We have a good reputation for selling these things and the estimates are sensible, rooted in reality and obtainable."

1. Catherine Walker Mughal inspired evening gown made for the state visit to India in February 1992

2. Victor Edelstein bottle green velvet evening gown

3. Catherine Walker Burgundy Crushed Velvet evening gown worn on a State visit to Australia in 1985

4. Catherine Walker Burgundy sheath worn for a state visit to Korera in 1992

5. Catherine Walker black velvet and beaded evening gown used in a Mario Testino shoot for Vanity Fair at Kensington Palace 1997

6. Catherine Walker pink sequinned ivory crepe gown with asymmetric neckline, worn at the banquet given by President Collor on a state visit to Brazil and 1991

7. Victor Edelstein evening gown worn by Britain's Princess Diana for the State Dinner at the White House in 1985, when Princess Diana danced with John Travolta

8. Catherine Walker evening gown worn by Britain's Princess Diana for a State Visit to Austria in 1989

9. A Zandra Rhodes cocktail dress worn by Britain's Princess Diana to the Birthright benefit concert in 1987

10. Bruce Oldfield evening gown worn by Britain's Princess Diana for the opening night of 'Les Miserables' in 1985