She Was the Queen of British Fashion

For 17 years, women around the world watched Princess Diana’s ever-changing wardrobe. She became the most important ambassador for British designers and a fashion icon to millions here and abroad.

Now, suddenly, she is gone. But Diana left an important legacy.

“She put British fashion on the map,” said designer David Sassoon, whose Belville Sassoon label made more than 50 outfits for her.

From the moment in 1980 that the British tabloids tipped Lady Diana Spencer as the future bride of Prince Charles, she became the most photographed woman in the world.

But the shy 19-year-old nursery school helper was far removed from the fashion world when she first appeared in the international spotlight. As biographer Andrew Morton noted, her “occasion” wardrobe consisted of one long dress, one silk shirt and a smart pair of shoes.

Diana knew she needed help and turned to her two sisters, who had worked for British Vogue. They took her to meet Anna Harvey, then the magazine’s fashion editor.

Harvey introduced her to British designers and helped her build a wardrobe fit for a princess that was both fashionable and practical--hems were weighted, for example, so they didn’t blow up in the breeze.

“The Princess of Wales was really keen to promote British fashion and she tried virtually every British designer that was going,” said Hilary Alexander, fashion editor of the Daily Telegraph. “She wasn’t afraid to experiment.”

Diana made some fashion mistakes--a tight leather skirt worn with patterned tights that the tabloids said made her look like a shopgirl, “Dynasty” suits that made her look cheap, and shapeless sack dresses.

But gradually, she built up a coterie of British designers she relied on, including Catherine Walker, Victor Edelstein, Jacques Azagury and Sassoon. And she began to look chic, cool, elegant.

The result was a major transformation of the image of royal dressing.

“She brought it up to the ‘90s and transformed the stuffy traditional image into an international glamour look,” Sassoon said.

Diana also played a key role in changing the image of British fashion. In the 1980s, Britain was a poor cousin of the European fashion industry; it was the French and Italians who counted. But Diana helped begin to shift the balance.

“She gave us the jump-start,” said Harvey, now associate editor of British Vogue. “She was a fantastic ambassadress.”

Annette Worsley-Taylor, coordinator of London Fashion Week, which showcases British fashions twice a year, said the event in September saw a 65% increase in overseas buyers. She attributes that in part to Diana’s influence--especially during her early years in the royal spotlight.

Britain now exports $430 million worth of designer clothing a year--more than double the amount a decade ago, according to the British Knitting and Clothing Export Council.

Diana also encouraged British women, who did not have a reputation for wearing fashionable clothes, to dress with style and wear British designers, Worsley-Taylor said. “As she became more of a fashion icon worldwide, as she grew in stature, I think that she also had an influence on people worldwide having confidence in buying British fashions,” Worsley-Taylor said.

Over the years, the princess honed her own look.

“The thing that made her very special is the fact that she had so much natural style and so much allure and so much charm about herself,” said Nicole Fischelis, fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue. “Whatever she wore, she really was carrying the clothes. The clothes never wore her.”

As Diana matured, her clothes became more sophisticated and understated. And after her separation from Charles in 1992, she started to wear clothes by international designers, including Valentino, Versace, Ungaro, Chanel and Ralph Lauren.

“She had the freedom . . . following the separation really to indulge fashion,” said the Daily Telegraph’s Alexander. Often, she chose flattering Walker evening gowns, slim Versace shift dresses, tailored casual clothes by Giorgio Armani.

“Especially in the last two years of her life, I think she understood that she wasn’t just a British fashion icon . . . she had become an international icon,” Alexander said.

British designers are distraught at losing her not only because she wore their outfits, but because she became a friend to many.

“It’s not as if the designers are thinking, ‘Oh, we’ve got to find another Diana.’ You cannot find another Diana,” Alexander said.

As a lasting tribute, the British Fashion Council is raising money for a scholarship in Diana’s honor to send a fashion student to graduate school.

Harvey is certain the country’s fashion industry can survive without its star, who helped it grow strong. “I think we’ll do well in spite of it,” she said.

But Lydia Kemeny, retired head of the fashion department at Central St. Martin’s School of Art, which has trained a host of top British designers, isn’t so sure.

“It’s like the light has been switched off,” she said. “But let’s hope the afterglow will do us good.”