Gown Prized by Diana Will Highlight Tribute

An oyster-colored gown of satin and beads that Princess Diana once wore to a state ball in Paris arrives at the Irvine Spectrum Center on Thursday as part of a tribute to the late princess of Wales and a fund-raiser for her favorite charities.

Besides viewing the gown, fans of the princess can donate to her memorial foundation and can be videotaped sharing personal memories of Diana. The display runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. through Sunday inside a tent set up in the courtyard of the office and entertainment complex.

Romance Classics, a fledgling cable network available locally only in Buena Park and Placentia, paid $90,000 for the strapless gown and its beaded bolero jacket at Christie’s auction house in June, said Katrina Sutton, a spokeswoman for the network, which is sponsoring the display.

Diana initially removed the dress from the collection to be auctioned off for charity because the gown was one of her favorites. Her son William later convinced her to include it, Sutton said.

She wore the gown, created by British designer Victor Edelstein, only once, to a banquet given by President Francois Mitterrand at the presidential palace at the Champs-Elysees in 1988.

Irvine is the last of 10 stops across the country for the display. About $12,500 in contributions have been placed in a wishing well, Sutton said, and the cable channel has matched each donation. The roughly $25,000 raised will be donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. It allocates money to a number of Diana’s favorite charities, including the Red Cross and Ronald McDonald House.

Some of the edited testimonials will appear in an hourlong program about Diana that the network is producing. It is expected to air early next year.

The Irvine Spectrum Center is at 31 Fortune Drive in Irvine. Information: (714) 789-9180.