Royal fashion from Queen Victoria to Princess Diana featured in new Kensington Palace exhibition

Rare and important pieces of clothing, including those worn by Queen Victoria and Princess Diana, are now on display at Kensington Palace, in an exhibition that highlights the influence of fashion in royal life.

Dress Codes explores the history of court dressing and how fashion can make a powerful impact when “boundaries are pushed and dress codes evolve.”

Highlights of the exhibition include pieces belonging to royal tastemakers including Diana, Princess of Wales, a young Queen Elizabeth II and undergarments worn by her famous ancestor, Queen Victoria.

Visitors will also get a rare glimpse of items from the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, which houses over 10,000 objects spanning 500 years. These items, cared for by Historic Royal Palaces, include a rare Japanese court suit from the early 20th century and a never-before-seen 1920s Reville court dress worn at Buckingham Palace.

Of the 34 items on display, 15 have never been displayed, including Queen Victoria’s black mourning bodice and two evening dresses worn by Princess Margaret.

One, a 1980s gold embroidered ensemble by Thea Porter opens the show and was inspired by kaftans and middle-eastern culture, according to curator Matthew Storey, via Town And Country. The other is a much-loved, intricately embroidered green dress by Filipino designer Jose Pitoy Moreno, which the princess first wore on a visit to the Philippines in 1980.

Storey said he wanted to show Princess Margaret’s connection to creative people and creative scenes and how she used her clothes to communicate that.

“She had a real deep engagement and understanding of culture and she made Kensington a place where culturally interesting people gathered,” Storey said.

“That’s what I want to represent in that choice of clothes, is her connection to creative people, to creative scenes and how she expressed that so beautifully in her wardrobe.”

Among these items on display are several outfits worn by one of Kensington Palace’s most famous residents, Princess Diana, who was considered a master of fashion diplomacy.

Alongside her striking red Jasper Conran suit worn for a ship-naming ceremony in 1984, the exhibition includes the red Bruce Oldfield beaded gown wore for a state visit to Saudi Arabia in 1987, which showed how Diana adapted her image for state visits, such as covering her arms and neckline for her trip to the conservative Arab nation.

Less formal pieces are also shown, such as two matching Liberty print floral cotton dresses, worn by Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret, matching floral dresses worn by Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth II when the sisters were children growing up in 1930s London.

Dress Codes is open to the public from the middle of March and will run until November 30. For those of us unable to visit the UK, you can still check out the sartorial treasures on display via hrp.org.uk.