From her tartan power suits to her rule-breaking red carpet gowns, Princess Diana's much-celebrated style has always provided sartorial inspiration for both fashion designers and fashion fans alike.
However, the latest creative to be inspired by the late royal cameas quite a surprise. Back in July, Virgil Abloh, of the Milan-based fashion label Off-White, took to Instagram to share his plan for the upcoming season with a moodboard dedictated entirely to Diana. The caption read, 'One woman, 40 Off-White looks in the works come September.'
Most famous for his partnership with Kanye West, Abloh is a designer, DJ, and clearly a big royal fan. Who would have thought? Normally found creating collaborations with the likes of Nike and Ikea, art directing for Jay Z and dressing Bella Hadid, it's fair to say a collection paying homage to Lady Di didn't seem like an obvious next step.
Yesterday, Abloh unveiled the collection at Off-White's Paris Fashion Week showcase, offering a modern, street-style infused take on the late Princess's signature style. Power shoulders, polka dots and pastel colours all appeared as hallmarks, while Kaia Gerber walked the runway in a fresh take on one of Diana's go-to off-duty looks, high-waisted jeans in a light wash, paired with a button-down shirt-jacket hybrid with strong statement shoulders.
Among the more literal interpretations of Diana's wardrobe were tulle-laden 'princess' dresses and skirt-suits in pale blue or pink, with rounded necklines. An off-the-shoulder gown in black seemed to pay homage to the infamous 'revenge' dress, worn shortly after Prince Charles admitted to having an affair, though the Off-White girl wore hers with a roll-neck jumper.
This season's unexpected style hit, the cycling shorts, made an appearance too, this time paired with a statement jacket with a sweeping waterfall detail in white. Diana, of course, was an early adopter of this particular street style trend, typically pairing hers with oversized sweatshirts in cartoonish prints.
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