1985年在白宮，Diana身著Victor Edelstein深藍色天鵝絨禮服裙，與John Travolta跳舞
圖片來源：GETTY
我眺望到平靜水面的另一邊，看到一個被蘆葦圍著、長滿青苔的綠島和一個古老寺廟，寺廟裡有一簇簇鮮花，上面寫了個名字「Diana」以及她的生卒年份：1961年到1997年。
奧爾索普是年輕王妃Diana Spencer的故居，也是她最後的安息之所，在她去世20年後，我在追尋研究這個神秘人物的一生時把這當成第一站。
自然似乎是記錄莊嚴但窩心時刻一個不錯的方式，例如在這個莊嚴的紀念日前夕凱特王妃、威廉王子和哈裡王子參觀了位於肯辛頓宮、經過特殊設計的白色花園。
在威爾斯王妃黛安娜逝世20周年紀念日前夕，凱特王妃、威廉王子和哈裡王子在肯辛頓宮的白色花園中參觀。花園裡種著鮮花和植物，讓人想起黛安娜的獨特風格。
圖片來源：REX FEATURES
我已經參觀了這座皇家建築內的黛安娜服裝展。《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》記錄了黛安娜在時尚風格上的變化，從年輕時的貴族風格，例如1979年她在奧爾索普舞會上穿的Regamus淡藍色褶邊連衣裙，到後來的幹練風格，例如1991年穿的突顯身體曲線美的Gianni Versace冰藍色緊身連衣裙。從這可以看出，在這12年裡，她從天真的女孩成長為一個自信的女性。
1979年，Diana王妃初入社交界，參加了在家族住所奧爾索普莊園舉行的舞會，當時穿了一條Regamus連衣裙（左圖有當時的照片）。目前，在肯辛頓宮《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》展覽上展出。
圖片來源：（左圖）@SUZYMENKESVOGUE ，（右圖） HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
在肯辛頓宮《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》的第六展覽室中，展示了一條金色刺繡Gianni Versace冰藍色緊身連衣裙，在其它禮服中尤為引人注目。
圖片來源：HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
「在與查爾斯王子分開後，她說她希望自己是因為所做的工作而不僅僅因為衣著講究而被熟知」，皇家禮儀服裝展的策展人EleriLynn說。「每一件衣服都是一本縮小版的傳記，它們不僅能告訴我們當時的時尚趨向和設計師，還能告訴我們黛安娜的精神狀態」。
《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》的策展人EleriLynn展示了一條CatherineWalker花卉直筒連衣裙，1991年黛安娜在紐約舉行的佳士得拍賣行晚會上穿了它（右圖）
在肯辛頓宮展覽中可以看到黛安娜自身迷人的光芒，我們從展覽中可以看到她從「害羞」變得「強勢」，從童話公主變成充滿熱誠的人道主義者，這些都是她最喜歡的設計師接受採訪時對她的一些真實評價，這些採訪也成為了展覽的一部分。
「看上去她好像衝進去，穿上了一條連衣裙，梳理一下頭髮，就又跑了出去一樣。最重要的是，她出現了」，BruceOldfield說。
左圖是黛安娜在1989年去巴比肯時穿的一條Bellville Sassoon真絲綢緞雞尾酒連衣裙，右圖是她在1989年和1991年穿的一條BruceOldfield綢緞蕾絲連衣裙
JasperConran解釋說，她選擇服飾時是何等用心。這位設計師說：「每次王妃和我討論她的服裝時，她總會問這樣一個問題，『如果我穿這件衣服，我在傳遞什麼信息呢？』對她來說，這才是她選擇服裝真正的標準」。
奧爾索普宮位於北安普敦郡，Spencer家族19代人都居住在那裡，那裡的喬治王時代風格馬廄能讓我們對黛安娜的時代有個大致了解。在那裡，有很多文物和紀念品，包括兒童的畫和一本記錄了Spencer勳爵在他姐姐葬禮上演講的書，還有Mario Testino在黛安娜去世的前一年，也就是1997年，為她拍攝的照片。
這些照片本是為《名利場》雜誌拍攝的，照片中吸引人的是她的個性而不是她的衣服。Testino為她拍攝的照片引人注目，照片中的她梳著短髮，手上沒戴任何戒指，她穿的CatherineWalker珍珠刺繡絲綢連衣裙也很不錯。該設計師於2000年去世，但她的公司已經經營了40年，她最能反映Diana精神層面的變化。
奧爾索普的照片很有意義，因為我們似乎能從這些照片裡了解到「真實的」黛安娜；她從年輕新娘變得成熟，最終成為一個獨立的女性。
Diana穿著Catherine Walker服裝拍的肖像圖，由Mario Testino拍攝，相片如今在她家奧爾索普莊園展出
圖片來源：@SUZYMENKESVOGUE
當我問Mario Testino他對黛安娜和那些照片的感受時，他給出了一個中肯的回答。
「我的父親曾經告訴我的母親說黛安娜讓服裝看起來更好看，而不難看」，Mario在自己家鄉秘魯利馬建立了Mario Testino博物館，他說博物館會一直為這些照片留位置。
在1989年正式訪問香港時，Diana穿了CatherineWalker的珍珠刺繡「貓王」連衣裙和相配套的小外套
圖片來源：HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES (LEFT) ANDGETTY
「我從小就明白，有些人會讓衣服看起來比別人好看」，這位攝影師說。「我想我們很容易能從18歲模特身上找到這種才能，因為他們能駕馭任何服裝，但隨著年齡的增長，這種才能會越來越消退。Diana王妃似乎就有這樣的才能。最神奇的是，它還伴隨著王妃的害羞性格出現，這讓它變得更加獨一無二」。
1997年黛安娜在倫敦的邦德街購物（左圖），她穿著一條Catherine Walker的連衣裙，目前該裙在肯辛頓宮的《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》展覽中展出（右圖）
圖片來源：GETTY; HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES
Spencer勳爵本人很欣賞他姐姐的照片，他說：「當我第一次看到這些照片時，我印象深刻。20年後，我再次重溫這些照片，感覺它們是在致敬我美麗又出色的姐姐」。
那麼，這些Spencer家族成員有誰呢？我穿過奧爾普索宮，到馬廄去看Diana的大家庭，看她的兄弟姐妹們以及她之前的幾代人，我一直在尋找是什麼影響她的成長，是什麼造就她一開始的風格。
一條Catherine Walker粉紅色綢緞晚禮裙，有著白色絲綢領子和袖口。1987年Terence Donovan要為王妃拍攝一幅官方肖像，所以王妃需要一條在查爾斯王子正式制服（見下文）面前上也毫不遜色的禮服裙。CatherineWalker為Diana設計了這條高貴而正式的禮服裙，剪裁經典，極具女人味。她在1987年對德國進行正式訪問時也穿了它。
奧爾索普宮裡的房間一個接一個，可以追溯到500個世紀以前，房間裡有大量描繪Spencer家族的畫作。我想像著Diana穿過所有的豪華臥室——據客戶聯絡經理James Ward所說，一共27個這樣的房間，他帶我四處參觀，並邀請我在高雅的客廳裡喝茶，俯瞰鬱鬱蔥蔥的綠色花園。在這之前，他給我展示了Rubens的畫作，告訴我美國女繼承人Consuelo Vanderbilt與Marlborough第9代公爵的婚姻故事，並邀請我參加在10月5日至8日舉行的奧爾索普文學節。
在那麼多保皇主義人士肖像畫中，最引人注目的是那六位被稱為「溫莎美人」的女性的肖像，因為她們都是查理二世的情婦。今後，每當國王訪問奧爾索普時，就會在牆上掛一幅他當時愛人的畫像。
黛安娜王妃的家奧爾索普莊園的主樓梯，
圖片來源;@SUZYMENKESVOGUE
啊！這個肖像畫廊能否看出黛安娜早期對褶飾和彎曲胸部線條的喜愛呢？可以的。來到帕拉第奧風格的前廳能看到壯觀的樓梯，樓梯頂部掛著她父親、弟弟和一些更老的親戚的畫像，旁邊就是1994年Nelson Shanks為黛安娜畫的畫像，她穿的禮服潔白純真。
在肯辛頓宮的展覽上，一開始的「走出去」展覽廳展示了一個和來自同一上層階級的朋友同租公寓和服裝的年輕女人。黛安娜被《Vogue》選為新晉社交麗人，Snowdon勳爵拍下了黛安娜穿著由David和Elizabeth Emanuel打造的縐邊領襯衫的照片，他們還製作了那條華麗的皇家婚禮裙。
1981年2月，Snowdon勳爵為《Vogue》雜誌拍攝的黛安娜的照片，她當時穿了一件帶綢緞領結的Emanuel雪紡綢襯衫。這張照片的發布時，Diana與查爾斯王子訂婚的消息剛公布，所以這張照片被認為是她的第一張官方肖像
黛安娜登上《Vogue》雜誌封面，左圖是1981年8月由Snowdon勳爵拍攝的封面，要右圖是1994年10月由Patrick Demarchelier拍攝的封面
圖片來源：VOGUE
館長說：「黛安娜登上《Vogue》雜誌的封面，從一堆服裝中挑選了一件襯衫，因為該封面刊登的時間與公開訂婚消息的時間相吻合，所以這照片成為了非官方的肖像，並成為標誌性的黛安娜王妃形象，尤其是那柔軟的領子」。
在1987年另一張官方照片中，她穿著一條Catherine Walker淡粉色禮服裙，上面有白色的領子和袖口以及經典領口，這條裙子證明了王妃仍很鍾情於低領口——那條Victor Edelstein墨水藍色低領天鵝絨連衣裙也是如此，在1985年，Diana穿著它和John Travolta跳舞。
EleriLynn看到了她從一個穿著蝴蝶結褶邊服裝的上流社會小姐轉變成精心選擇服裝來傳達信息的「幹練」女性。
「她在打造自己的形象上非常積極，她用時尚來傳達信息，來交流，來用它完成手頭的工作」，策展人解釋說。
1986年和1987年，黛安娜王妃穿著天鵝絨和塔夫綢的Murray Arbeid晚禮裙。目前在肯辛頓宮的《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》展覽上展出
在她分居和離婚後，她離開了時尚界，但與此同時，她以另一形象進入了人們的視野。當她脫掉手套——她也很少戴手套——與愛滋病患者握手時，她正公開表明自己的觀點。
在1997年，為了給愛滋病和癌症慈善機構籌集資金，黛安娜拍賣了自己的標誌性服裝，Testino曾給這些她在皇室生活中穿過的服裝拍照。她為什麼要賣這些衣服呢？因為她要實現自己的目標：通過自己的服裝來傳達信息——而不是被時尚所主導。
肯辛頓宮《黛安娜：她的時尚故事》展覽的入口。此次展覽展出了黛安娜王妃一些最令人難忘的服裝，以及她穿著這些服裝時的照片。
Diana chose a Victor Edelstein midnight-blue velvet gown to dance with John Travolta at The White House in 1985
Getty
I looked across the still water to the mossy green island framed by reeds, the classic temple with its bouquets of fresh flowers, and the single name, 「Diana」, with dates for remembrance: 1961 to 1997.
Althorp, the historic home of the young Lady Diana Spencer, is her final resting place and my first stop in tracing the world of a mythical figure, twenty years after her death.
Nature seemed a worthy way to mark a solemn but sweet moment, like the visit on the eve of the solemn remembrance by Kate, William and Harry to the specially created White Garden at Kensington Palace.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Prince Harry visiting the White Garden at Kensington Palace on the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The garden is planted with flowers and foliage reminiscent of Diana's unique style
Rex Features
I had already visited the exhibition inside the royal building, devoted to Diana’s language of clothes. 「Diana: Her Fashion Story」 tracks the evolution of her style from young aristocrat in a frilly, pale blue dress from society label Regamus for a ball at Althorp in 1979 to a sophisticated figure in a curvy, ice-blue sheath dress by Gianni Versace in 1991. From innocence to confidence in twelve years.
A Regamus dress worn by Diana as a debutante for a ball at her family home, Althorp House, in 1979 (see photograph, left). Currently on display at the Kensington Palace exhibition, Diana: Her Fashion Story
@SuzyMenkesVogue , left and Historic Royal Palaces, right.
The Gianni Versace ice-blue sheath with gold embroidery sits among other notable gowns in Room 6 of Diana: Her Fashion Story, at Kensington Palace
Historic Royal Palaces
「Following the separation from the Prince of Wales, she said she didn’t want to be known a clothes horse but as a work horse,」 said Eleri Lynn, Curator of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. 「Each of the dresses is a mini biography… They tell us not just about the fashions and designers of the time, but about Diana’s state of mind.」
Eleri Lynn, Curator of the exhibition, Diana: Her Fashion Story, displays a Catherine Walker floral shift dress worn by Diana in 1991 to the Christie's Gala in New York (right)
For all the fascinating flashes of character seen at the Kensington Palace display, tracing Diana’s evolution from 「Shy Di」 to 「Dynasty Di」 and from fairytale princess to committed humanitarian, some of the most revealing comments come from interviews with her favourite designers, which form part of the exhibition.
「She managed her look as if she had dashed in, slipped on a dress, combed her hair and run out again. In the end, it was all about her presence,」 said Bruce Oldfield about dressing Diana.
Left, a Bellville Sassoon silk-satin cocktail dress worn in 1989 to the Barbican, and right, a Bruce Oldfield satin and lace dress worn in 1990 and 1991
Jasper Conran explained how carefully selected her fashion choices became. 「Whenever the Princess discussed her clothes with me, part of it was always, 『What message will I be giving out if I wear this?』 For her, that became the real language of clothes,」 the designer said.
At Althorp, the Northamptonshire home of 19 generations of the Spencer family, the Georgian stables offer a summary of the Diana era. There, among artefacts and souvenirs – including children’s drawings and a book of Lord Spencer’s speech at the funeral of his sister – are photographs of Diana taken by Mario Testino in 1997, the year of her demise.
These images, originally for Vanity Fair magazine, draw out her personality – but not her clothes. With hair brushed short and her left hand bare of any ring, Testino’s compelling photographs put in second place her pearl-embroidered satin dress by Catherine Walker. The designer, who died in 2000 but whose company celebrates 40 years in 2017, was foremost at reflecting Diana’s changing spirit.
The Althorp pictures are meaningful because they seem to have captured the 「real」 Diana; a woman who had come through from young bride to maturity, emerging as her own woman.
Mario Testino portraits of Diana wearing Catherine Walker, on display at her family home, Althorp House
@SuzyMenkesVogue
When I asked Mario Testino how he felt now about Diana and those pictures, he gave a pertinent reply.
「My father used to tell my mother that she made her dresses look good, and not the other way around,」 Mario said of the pictures that have a permanent place in MATE, the Museo Mario Testino in his home city of Lima, Peru.
The Catherine Walker pearl-embroidered "Elvis" dress and matching bolero worn on the official visit to Hong Kong in 1989
Historic Royal Palaces (left) and Getty
「I grew up understanding that some people make clothes look better than others,」 the photographer said. 「I guess it is a quality we find easily in 18-year-old models because of the way clothes hang on them, but this becomes much rarer with age. Princess Diana seemed to have had this quality. What was most magical is that it came together with a certain shyness, which made it truly unique.」
Diana shopping on Bond Street in London in 1997 (left), wearing a Catherine Walker shift dress that is on display at Kensington Palace in Diana: Her Fashion Story (right)
Getty; Historic Royal Palaces
Lord Spencer himself admired the photographs of his sister, saying 「These images made a huge impact on me when I saw them first, and revisiting them now, twenty years later, seems a fitting tribute to my beautiful, fabulous sister.」
So who are these Spencers? Walking through Althorp, from the stables to the grand home of Diana and her siblings and so many generations before, I was looking for clues to her development and what might have influenced her original style.
A pink satin evening gown with white raw silk collar and cuffs by Catherine Walker. When the Princess posed for an official 1987 official portrait by Terence Donovan, she needed a dress that would hold its own next to The Prince of Wales’s ceremonial uniform (see below). Catherine Walker devised this stately and formal gown for Diana, with classic tailoring in an overtly feminine style. She also wore it to the official visit to Germany in 1987
The enfilade of rooms dating back 500 centuries included paintings of Spencers galore; the Empress of Austria; a family friend who was stabbed to death; portraits of cows; and the Marlborough dining room, seating 42 at a long table dressed with elegant crockery, which occasionally was given as gifts to important visitors.
I imagined Diana walking through the grand bedrooms – all 27 of them, according to James Ward, the Guest Liaison Manager who showed me around and invited me to tea in the graceful drawing room overlooking the lush green gardens. That was after he had shown me a line-up of Rubens paintings, told me the story of American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt’s marriage to the Ninth Duke of Marlborough, and invited me to attend the Althorp Literary Festival, from the 5th to 8th of October.
The most intriguing paintings included in a roster of Royalists were six ladies known as 「the Windsor Beauties」, because they were all mistresses of Charles II. So each time the King visited Althorp, his current love had a portrait made to hang on the wall.
The main staircase at Althorp House, Princess Diana's family home
Ah! Is this picture gallery where Diana found her early enthusiasm for frills and curving bust lines? That can be seen in her ingénue dresses and in the 1994 portrait of the Princess in a flurry of white by Nelson Shanks, hanging beside paintings of her father, brother and more ancient relatives at the top of the imposing staircase in the Palladian hall.
At the Kensington Palace exhibition, the early 「Stepping Out」 room shows a young woman who shared an apartment – and her wardrobe – with friends from the same upper class. Selected by Vogue as an upcoming society beauty, Lord Snowdon photographed Diana in a frilled blouse by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, who went on to make the fancy royal wedding dress.
The chiffon blouse with satin ribbon necktie by Emanuel, which Diana wore for a society photoshoot with Lord Snowdon for Vogue, February 1981. The publication of the photographs coincided with the announcement of Diana's engagement to Prince Charles and then became known as her first official portrait
Diana's Vogue covers, from August 1981 (left), photographed by Lord Snowdon, and October 1994, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier
Vogue
「Diana turned up at Vogue and picked the blouse off a rail of clothes, and because it coincided with the engagement announcement, it became the unofficial portrait and the definitive Lady Di look, with that soft collar,」 the curator said.
In another official photograph from 1987, a pale pink Catherine Walker gown, with its white collar and cuffs and portrait neckline, proved that the Princess was still under the spell of those low necklines – as did the plunge-front dress in ink-blue velvet by Victor Edelstein in which Diana danced with John Travolta in 1985.
Eleri Lynn sees the change from the upper-class 「bows and ruffles」 Lady Diana to the 「Dynasty Di」 phase as the beginning of a deliberately planned fashion language.
「She was very active in the creation of her image and she used fashion to convey the messages, to communicate, and use it to do the job at hand,」 the curator explained.
A Murray Arbeid velvet and taffeta evening dress worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1986 and 1987. Currently on display at the Kensington Palace exhibition, Diana: Her Fashion Story
The ever-changing images of the much-photographed Diana moved after her separation and divorce out of the realm of fashion and into a world of visual theatre. When she conspicuously removed a pair of gloves – that she so rarely wore – to shake hands with an AIDS sufferer, she was making a public statement.
And it was to raise money for AIDS and cancer charities that Diana put her iconic clothes on sale in 1997, with Testino taking the pictures of outfits she had worn in her previous royal life. Why did she sell them? She had achieved her aim: To speak through her clothes – but not to be dominated by fashion.
The entrance to Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace. The exhibition features some of the most memorable outfits worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as photography of the occasions on which she wore them
「Diana: Her Fashion Story」 is at Kensington Palace until December 2018 (although some exhibits may have to return to their owners). There are seasonal opportunities to book tickets – the current season ends 31st October, the next season opens 1st November until end-February 2018; further seasons to be announced. Visit www.hrp.org.uk