The date is December 9, 1996, and designers and their muses are gathering at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to fete the work of Christian Diorâthe focus of the latest fashion exhibit and accompanying gala. Calvin Klein and Christy Turlington make a photogenic duo, while Christian Lacroix and Iman pull out all the stops with their combination of corduroy, crystals, and corsetry. Linda Evangelista arrives in a dangerously low scoop-neck gown, accompanied by her then-love interest Kyle MacLachlan, and itâs all smiles from Amber Valletta as she navigates the famous staircase. Then, somewhere in the hubbub and the hobnobbing, thereâs Diana, Princess of Wales.
The royal made a discreet entrance, accompanied by her friend Liz Tilberis, while wearing her most un-royal look to date. The Princessâs inky silk John Galliano for Dior slip dress, with its lace negligée trim and matching dressing-gown style robe, was eons away from the Di who once charmed the world with her sheep jumper, and signaled that the recent divorcée was enjoying a new phase of her life unshackled from Kensington Palace protocol.
